The Doctor Goes to Disney
by Starry-EyedandStormy
Summary: Basically what the title says. The Doctor takes the three Ponds to Disney for a vacation/adventure! DOCTORxRIVER and AMYxRORY Note: I'm just goin to add here that even though the genre says Family/Humor, it's actually just about every genre we can pick from on here: Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Suspense, Drama, etc. and Adventure. ...Lots and lots of adventure.
1. Arrival at the Hotel

The TARDIS hummed as it hurtled through the Vortex, sending its four occupants through space and time. The Doctor was busy flipping switches, pulling levers, pushing buttons, and trying to keep River away from the controls. Amy and Rory looked on in amused silence.

"So where are we going this time?" Amy prodded.

"Oh, you'll see!" the Doctor replied with a childish grin as he swatted River's hand away from the parking brake lever for the umpteenth time.

River huffed and pulled her hand away and remarked, "It better be somewhere good. No place too boring or messy... or with food that turns you into a spaztic rainbow..." as she flopped into the console chair.

"Oi! I told you that ending up on the Planet of the Kyk Juyk was an accident! I told the Old Girl to take us to the rainforests of Apopagrashania! They have trees that grow to be taller than any skyscraper on Earth, and flowers so huge you can stand on them!"

"Not to mention the fact that some of those flowers big enough to stand on eat meat (including people!), and it has a hostile native population..." River said with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, you just don't stand on those plants or go looking for the Apopagrashanians!" the Doctor replied as the TARDIS came to a halt. Without the familiar "VVWWWWWWOOOOOOOORP. VWOOOOOOOOOORRP!" The Doctor turned an glared at River. "But I kept you away from the parking brake lever!" he complained.

River smirked. "There's a few other ways to turn it on and off."

"No there isn't! I know my TARDIS, and I _know_ that there isn't any other way!"

Amy, fearing that the argument could end up lasting all day and keeping them from exploring wherever they had landed, broke in. "Um, you two are welcome to stay here and argue that, but Rory and I are going to see where we've landed..." She began to walk towards the doors, grabbing Rory's hand along the way.

As she opened the door a wave of cheerful music reached their ears, along with the smell of food, and the sounds of many, MANY people.

Amy poked her head out and then turned back to the Doctor, who had forgotten his argument with River and was bouncing on the balls of his feet and grinning like a four year old.

"TA-DA!" He yelled with a flourish of his hands. He then proceeded to bound down the stars as quickly as he could before running outside the TARDIS ahead of everyone. The other three followed him and observed their surroundings.

They were in a courtyard or garden of sorts that was extremely well kept. In front of them was a huge white, Victorian style building with a red roof. Over their heads, a monorail passed by through a station, and the sounds of many people's voices could be heard over all the other noise.

Amy looked around. "You brought us to-"

"DISNEY WORLD!" the Doctor interrupted. "The 'happiest place on Earth'! Well, actually, one of the happiest places on Earth, because they say that about all of the Disney parks, even though at this point there's six of them world-wide. So technically, I guess it's one of the _six_ happiest places on Earth because of that, but it doesn't really matter because it is so much fun that you forget the technicality of that..."

He was silenced by River shoving her hand over his mouth. "We get it, Sweetie. They call it the happiest place on Earth. But WHY did you bring us here?"

The Doctor stared at her in disbelief. _How could she even ask that?! Isn't it obvious?_ "To have fun! And I mean fun like most people have, not the kind of fun of running away from hostile aliens or saving a planet. The "have fun for the sake of fun" kind of fun! I don't get to have that very often, and I've actually never been here, so I figured that now was as good a time as any to try it! I even booked us some rooms here at this hotel because apparently that's what people usually do, although I'd still be happy with just staying in the TARDIS, but trying something new is always good, so a hotel it will be!" With that he bounded off towards the building.

The other three just stared after him for a moment. Rory asked, "Do you think it's possible that we'll manage to get through this trip without alien attacks or having to save the world or... any of the stuff we usually have to do with him?"

"No not really, but we can try. Come on," Amy replied as she began to walk towards the Doctor, who had stopped to chat with an elderly man wearing white Edwardian sport clothes. They appeared to be talking about bowties, seeing as the other man was wearing one. The Doctor turned to see the other three coming and waved.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to follow! This is Richard! Look at his brilliant bowtie! I need one like that!"

"Hello," Amy, Rory, and River said. Richard tipped his hat and said, "Hello to all of you too! Welcome to the Grand Floridian! Hope you folks enjoy your stay! Where do you think you'll go first? Is it your first time here in Disney World?"

"Yes!" answered an excited Doctor, "And I was thinking that we'd start in the Magic Kingdom tomorrow, seeing as it's the main park. Tonight we'll explore the hotel! We're staying here."

"Well have fun! I guess I'll be seeing you around if you're staying here. Have a magical day!" Richard said with a wave and another tip of his hat.

"COOL! They tell you to have a 'magical day!' That is absolutely BRILLIANT, and I am going to say that from now on!" the Doctor said as he practically skipped into the lobby of the Grand Floridian.

River shook her head as she, Amy, and Rory followed the Doctor once more. "I feel like this might be a_ very _long trip..."


	2. Why are We Here?

**Well, here's chapter 2! Thank you to SparklyPinkKitty and tttt for the reviews! (and tttt, I am so jealous that you get to see Ramin... XD)**

* * *

As they walked into the hotel, Amy couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of it. The lobby was about the size of a jogging track, with a large area in the centre with couches and chairs as well as a grand piano that someone was playing "Colors of the Wind" on. There were at least three huge floral arrangements with big, beautiful exotic flowers and leaves setting on some tables, and next to the grand staircase, there was a turn-of-the-20th century styled elevator.

While she was taking in the splendor of the space, the Doctor was rambling on about how accurate the architecture was. She suddenly jerked to attention when he bounded back to the three of them and pointed at the floor.

"...And they still managed to work Disney into it! Look! Some of the pieces of marble in the floor are shaped like the characters!" the Doctor told them excitedly.

Even River had to admit (to herself, of course) that it was a delightfully quirky touch. She was pulled from her thoughts as the Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the main desk.

"Come on! We have to check in, then we can explore the rest of the hotel!..." he babbled as they approached the concierge.

o0O0o

A few hours later, Amy and Rory and the Doctor and River were in their rooms. Both rooms were next to each other on the ground floor of one of the outlying buildings, facing Bay Lake and the Magic Kingdom. In fact, the top of Cinderella's Castle could be seen from their balconies. Amy and Rory were currently sitting on theirs, talking.

"I don't really know why the Doctor brought us here..." Rory said while looking at the castle. "I mean, it just seems a bit, well, low key? I mean, I'm sure that there isn't anything here that would cause us to all end up doing our usual fighting, saving, and running thing that we always have to do..."

"You know the Doctor. He's like a big four-year-old. I don't find this surprising at all, and you heard what he said earlier. He wants to have fun for the sake of fun. Can you really blame him for that? He just seems so sad sometimes... I think this will be really good for him. For all of us, really. I also have the feeling that he has another reason for bringing us here, whether he tells us or not."

"I will tell you."

Both Amy and Rory jumped to see the Doctor poking his head around the divider between the two balconies. "Mind if I climb over?"

Amy and Rory both nodded, and the Doctor proceeded to climb over to their side of the balcony. One he was over he leaned against the railing and looked first at Amy then Rory for a moment before he spoke.

"River is swimming at the main pool right now, so I don't have to worry about her hearing this. I wanted to come here. Yes, I wanted to come here because I figured it was someplace new where none of us had been before. But I did have another reason." Here the Doctor stopped and suddenly looked very sad. He looked down at his shoes for a moment before looking back at the Ponds and continuing. "I brought us here for River. Wait, let me finish before you say anything, Pond..." he said as Amy opened her mouth to question him. "I brought us here because this is one of those places that most children dream of visiting. Families come closer together and create happy memories here. I know that you didn't get to raise River... Melody... and she never really got the chance to be a child. When she wasn't with you two when you were all children together in Leadworth, she was being brainwashed and trained by the Silence to kill me. Because of that, she doesn't even properly have the memories of her time with the two of you as children, and that still wasn't really the same as if you'd been able to raise her as her parents, rather than as friends.

"I want to be able to see River let go of her armor. I want to see her just have fun and be happy. I don't want her to have to be brave for us, and I don't want her to have to hide behind her smirks and flirting. I want her to have a few days to let go and be the child that she never got to be. And I want the two of you to get to be the parents that you never got to be."

At the end of this speech, Amy and Rory just stared at the Doctor for a moment. Amy then stood up and threw her arms around her raggedy Doctor, for he truly looked raggedy at the moment with his eyes full of tears he would not shed and his head hung slightly. He looked defeated again, as he had after Deamon's Run. Just remembering that day seemed to have that effect on him.

"Thank you," Rory said simply, as he stood and put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

After a moment, the Doctor pulled out of Amy's embrace to look at the couple.

"Tomorrow," he said, "Tomorrow we start at the Magic Kingdom. " He grinned. "We'll ride as many rides as we can, and maybe see some characters too! " With that remark he began to climb back over to his room's balcony. "Get some sleep, you two! We have a long, busy, exciting day ahead of us tomorrow!" With that his head disappeared and the Ponds heard the door to his room shut.

o0O0o

River returned to the room after about an hour. She walked in to see the Doctor already asleep. She tiptoed into the room and quickly took a shower to wash the chlorine from the pool off of herself.

When she had changed into her nightgown, she tiptoed over to the bed and crawled in next to the Doctor. He shifted in his sleep closer to her and put his arm around her protectively.

River smiled, sighed contentedly, and fell asleep in the arms of her husband.

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**Next chapter is their first day in the Magic Kingdom! If there are any rides/places in particular that you would like me to include from that park, let me know in a review or PM! I'll try to work in as many requests as I can.**

**Reviews are always appreciated! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Mickey Ears

**I guess this is kind of a filler chapter before we get more into the events at the Magic Kingdom in the next chapter. Basically, I just wanted to write something about hats... :)**

**By the way, tttt, I AM SO INCREDIBLY JEALOUS. I got to meet Ramin after seeing Love Never Dies, and I gave him a drawing I did. He told me I was a talented artist, but he didn't call me darling... **

**Anyway. On to the story...**

* * *

River awoke to find the bed empty besides herself. She turned over to look at the clock, which read 8:30A.M. She groaned and rolled back over while pulling the sheets over her head, figuring that if they were on vacation, it was too early to get up. Unfortunately, she didn't get much more rest.

After a few seconds the sheets were whipped off of her. River groaned and turned to see the Doctor standing over the bed with his face inches away from hers. Her eyes weren't completely focused yet and he _was_ standing _very _close to her, but she could still make out the outline of something that most certainly not the top of his head. Last time she looked, she was certain that the Doctor didn't have ears like that...

"Sweetie, _what in the name of sanity is __**on your head?**_" she nearly growled out.

"It's a Mickey Mouse Ear hat! Isn't it cool?" The Doctor was bouncing on the balls of his feet like a small child while he replied. After a moments silence, he remembered something. "Oh, River, please, PLEASE don't shoot this hat either. I mean, everyone wears them here, and really they are just _so cool!_"

It was too early, and River was not in the mood for an argument at the moment so she merely grunted and sat up in the bed. "Would you mind telling me why you're getting me up this early? Aren't we supposed to be on vacation?"

"Of course we're on vacation! That is exactly _why_ I woke you up now! There's so much to do and see, not to mention the fact that we have to be in the park by 9:30 because I have a surprise for everyone! So, you can get up and get ready while I go make sure your parents are awake!" And with that, the Doctor bounded out of the room. River could hear him pounding on the door next to them.

_Wait a minute, I thought Mum and Dad's room was on the other side of ours... _River thought as she heard some very angry yelling issuing from the room whose door the Doctor had just been pounding on.

She chuckled to herself as she heard the Doctor rambling hopelessly in an attempt to apologize to whoever occupied the other room next door. She then got up and started to gather her clothes.

o0O0o

The Ponds were still asleep at 8:30, but the commotion two rooms down woke them up. They were not surprised in the least when not five minutes later the excited knocking was on their door.

Amy walked over and answered. "What _is it_ Doctor?"

He simply grinned and replied, "I needed to make sure you were up! We need to be in the Magic Kingdom by 9:30! Oh, and here. Please wear these..."

With that he held out two more pairs of TARDIS blue Mickey Ears with Amy and Rory's names embroidered on the backs.

Amy and Rory stared hesitantly at the hats. The Doctor saw the hesitation and insisted/begged, "Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase? Everyone wears them around here, it's not even strange! And they are really brilliant hats! AND THEY HAVE YOUR NAMES ON THE BACKS!" At this point the Doctor was flailing as he tried to get across just how cool the hats were.

"ALRIGHT, alright. We'll wear them," Amy finally conceded. She took the one with her name from the Doctor as Rory reached for his. The Doctor was grinning even wider now, if that was even possible. He looked as excited as any child to be in Disney World, and both of the Ponds were wondering if he would go running off every time something else in the park caught his attention. It would be like chasing a four-year-old around.

However, neither of them voiced these thoughts, figuring that the Doctor would only pout if they told him he was acting too childish. Besides, it actually was quite cute.

After a moment, the Doctor turned on his heel and called back to the couple, "Remember, IN THE PARK BY 9:30! We'll meet in the hotel lobby at 9:15 to make sure we have enough time!"

o0O0o

"! We're going to be LATE!" the Doctor whined. The clock read 9:10, and River was STILL getting ready. "You don't have to wear anything fancy or anything that would take as much preparation time as you're taking! I told your parents we'd meet them in the lobby at 9:15! THAT'S IN FIVE MINUTES!" He continued to pace around the room and flail his arms to try to get his point across.

"Alright, Sweetie! Calm down! Look, I'm ready. We can go now."

The Doctor practically dragged River out the door and he sprinted towards the main building that housed the lobby, as well as the station for the Monorail that they would take to the park.

Amy and Rory were sitting on one of the couches watching for their daughter and the Doctor. They were both wearing their Mickey Ears.

When River saw them, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and sigh. "He talked you two into wearing them too? Really?"

The Ponds shrugged in unison and Rory answered, "We might as well, and they're not _that_ bad..."

The Doctor beamed at Rory, then turned to River while pulling out one more set of the ears from his jacket pocket. He held them out to River with a hopeful look on his face.

"No. Absolutely not."

"But Riiiiiiverrr! They're cool! And TARDIS blue! And they have your name on them!"

"No."

"... Please?"

"No."

"...How about now?"

"No."

And so it continued the entire way to the Monorail, and throughout the entire ride to the park. Finally, as the recorded announcer on the train said, "_We are now entering Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom!"_, the Doctor finally put the pair of ears back into his pocket dejectedly.

However, as soon as they went through the park gates (after walking down the ramp from the Monorail in a huge throng of people, waiting for and going through bag inspection because Amy and River had bags, and waiting to get through the turnstiles), the Doctor was bouncing off the walls again. He bounded ahead of the other three through the tunnel under the train station onto Main Street U.S.A. and then waited for them.

When the Ponds all caught up, he spread his arms and spun in a circle as he excitedly gestured to everything around them. "Welcome to Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom!"

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**As always, reviews are appreciated, and suggestions are welcome!**


	4. Main Street and Mad Teacups

**YAY! New chapter! Sorry it's a bit long-winded, but since many reviewers have mentioned never having been to Disney, I wanted to put in as much description as possible. There will also be a few footnotes at the bottom describing and explaining a few more things.**

**Also, a big thankyou to Citizenofwhoville123 for their suggestion! I can't tell you what it was though yet, because, well... spoilers. ;)**

**And another big thank you to Music2232 for their kind and thoughtful reviews! I am planning on using some of your suggestions, just not yet...**

* * *

Main Street U.S.A was teeming with life. People were everywhere, and the Doctor _had _been right: many, _many_ of those people were wearing some version of the Mickey Ear hats, although, the Doctor and the two Ponds were the only people to be wearing TARDIS blue ones.

As for the street itself, it was styled after the Main Street of a small town from the turn of the last century. The buildings all had delicate, detailed facades all done in the Victorian style. On their right was a large building marked "Town Hall" and on their left were two buildings marked "Fire House" and "Information Center". Above the tunnel they had just come through was a train station, where an actual 1800's steam-powered train was loading. At the far end of the street, was Cinderella's Castle, presiding over the rest of the park. Really, they weren't standing on the street yet, but on the edge of the loop that the street made around an area filled with flower beds and a flagpole. A horse-drawn trolley was loading some people near where they were standing. The Doctor saw this, grabbed River's and Amy's hands and pulled them over towards it.

"Look at this! Oh, how _brilliant!_ They do try to make it authentic -mind you, it's not _completely _authentic, but that is to be expected. I mean, not that it _really _matters, but-"

Once they were seated in the trolley, River placed her hand over the Doctor's mouth to silence him, if only for a moment. "Yes, my love, we know. Let's just... try to enjoy this alright? And not keep score about things like that like you usually do..."

Rory had a guidebook which he'd bought at the hotel while he and Amy were waiting for the Doctor and River. He was looking at it when he noticed something that he thought might help to keep the Doctor occupied. "Hey, Doctor, it says in here that all over the parks there are things called "Hidden Mickeys". They're they silhouette of the head, and they're built into details in the rides and on buildings and stuff. We could look for those..."

Rory was cut off by the Doctor's loud exclamation of "YES!" as the trolley started down the street.

Amy looked over at the Doctor and said, "Was that a "yes" to the fact that the trolley started moving, or a "yes" to looking for Hidden Mickeys?"

"Oh, yes to both, definitely. I think it sounds like fun to look for them! I HAVE AN IDEA! Let's make it a game! Whoever finds the most Hidden Mickeys by the end of the day wins!"

River rolled her eyes at the Doctor's ever-present, childish enthusiasm, but she always did like a competition. "All right. Sounds good to me," she said as they rolled past the "Main Street Cinema", which was actually a store.

The Doctor looked at the buildings lining either side of the street and finally voiced aloud after wondering for a few moments, "Why are all of these buildings stores? Where are the rides?"

Rory, who was still looking at the guidebook replied, "It looks like this trolley will let us off in front of the Castle up there, and from there, we can go to any of the five different "lands" of the park. Adventureland is on the left, then Frontierland, then Liberty Square, then Fantasyland, and finally Tomorrowland. Where should we start?"

The Doctor suddenly remembered why they had to be in the park by 9:30. "OH! Uh, well, first we have something to do... is there a map in that guidebook?" he asked as he pulled it from Rory's hands.

Rory shook his head and replied sarcastically, "No, I was reading all of that stuff about the layout of the park from the section about hotel transportation..."

The Doctor hadn't heard. He was too busy poring over the map, trying to find the specific locations of two certain... attractions... of the park. When he found both, he grinned and handed the book back to Rory. At this point, the trolley was at the Castle Garden, in front of the "Partners" statue. It stopped and all the passengers disembarked and began to disperse in every direction to the five different Lands. The three Ponds and the Doctor got out and stood in front of the statue for a moment. The Doctor was looking at it thoughtfully. Amy was just about to ask what he was doing when he suddenly turned to face them again. He smiled and clapped his hands and said, "Alright! I have a surprise for everyone. We're going to split up for a bit. Amy, River, both of you are going to go up that ramp to the Castle and go inside..." Here he handed Amy a piece of paper and said, "Give this to someone in the Castle, and they'll tell you where to go. Rory, you're coming with me. We will all meet up at the Mad Tea Party ride afterwards." He then turned on his heel and began walking in the general direction of Adventureland. Rory followed after a moment's hesitation.

"Doctor, wait! Where are we going?" he called as he ran after the Doctor.

Amy and River looked at each other for a moment before turning towards the Castle.

"Well, I guess we follow his directions..." River said as they began to walk up the ramp. "Why do I have a feeling that I'm not going to like whatever this surprise is..."

"Eh, it is the Doctor... It may be strange, but I'm sure it won't be _that_ bad..." Amy replied

o0O0o

"YES, IT IS DEFINITELY _**THAT**_ BAD," River said as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a Cinderella gown, her hair had been (somewhat) plastered into a bun on the top of her head (or at least as much of a bun as it was possible to get River's hair into), and she was wearing a TON of sparkly makeup. Amy had the same makeup and hair, but was wearing a pale green Ariel dress. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT MAN THINKING?" River exclaimed.

Amy rolled her eyes and promptly shushed River, "There are lots of little girls here, River! Please don't swear that loudly..."

"CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE THIS?" River said as she gave her entire appearance a good looking-over. "...And of all the princesses, _Cinderella? _I don't even _like_ Cinderella!"

Amy shrugged. "I'm actually kind of liking the Ariel thing here, but I _hate_ what they've done to our hair, and I feel like it's just going to be very hard trying to get around so many people and get on and off rides in these..."

"Not to mention the fact that that was actually a very _humiliating _experience for both of us, as the women who did our make-up and hair. I mean, there is no one else in here over the age of _twelve_. JUST... AUUUGH!" River shuddered at the whole thought.

A woman came in and said to the two of them, "Well, you two ready for your photo? Please stand in front of the picture of the Castle... This is the last part of your 'Complete Princess' Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique package so..."

River shook her head and muttered to Amy, "He's going to pay for this..."

o0O0o

A few minutes later, River and Amy were waiting by the Mad Tea Party ride for the Doctor and Rory. Amy was still trying to calm down a very angry River.

"Just think, if the Doctor sent us to do this," she said as she gestured to her own green dress, "What will he and Rory have been doing? I'm sure it would be much worse..."

Just as she said that, River looked over towards the rest of Fantasyland to see the Doctor and Rory coming over to them. She smacked her palm to her forehead. "What IN THE NAME OF SANITY DO THEY HAVE ON THEIR HEADS?"

The Doctor saw River and waved frantically with a huge grin on his face. Rory was about to repeat the action when he saw the look on River's face. She looked like she wanted to kill both of them, but he noticed that most of that look seemed to be directed at the Doctor.

Both men were wearing pirate costumes, but the Doctor's was all out while Rory only had a sword, sash, a hat, and a hook. The Doctor on the other hand was wearing a hat with a bandana underneath, an eye patch, an earring, a puffy white shirt with a vest and a sash, a sword, and a pair of boots. Not to mention the fact that his face was painted with multiple pairs of eyes, just like what the cannibals painted on Captain Jack Sparrows face in _Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest_. Rory just had a moustache painted on.

Amy and River just stared at the two men with their mouths hanging open.

As they finally reached the two women, the Doctor smiled at River and said, "Well? Did you enjoy the princess boutique?"

River stared at the Doctor for a moment and slapped him. Not hard, but hard enough.

Amy just stared at Rory and finally said to the Doctor, "You sent us to the _princess boutique,_ while you two got to get made-up like _pirates?_ **THAT** is **NOT FAIR AT ALL, DOCTOR.**"

Between being slapped by River and yelled at by Amy, the Doctor wasn't sure what to do. He stared back and forth between the two angry women before replying, "I... I... I thought you would like it! It's what most of the girls do when they come here! I mean, look! Look at all the other girls!" He gestured around them. Amy had to admit to herself that there were a LOT of girls who had obviously been to the boutique...

"Yes, but Doctor, look at them! All of the little kids! You should have at least asked us which one we wanted to go to..."

"I wanted it to be a surprise! I thought you would like it!"

"Well, you were wrong," River snapped.

The Doctor shrunk back a little and looked very sheepish. He looked at River then and said by way of apology, "Well... you look very pretty... I mean..."

River shook her head. "Not good enough, Doctor."

Everyone just stood there in awkward silence for a few moments.

Finally Amy looked at Rory and said, "Why do you have a hook?"

Rory shrugged and replied, "I got the "Captain Hook" package. I see you got, the uh... princess from the Little Mermaid...?"

Amy nodded, "Yeah, I guess. Apparently she wears this dress in the park..."

After a few more awkward, silent moments Amy shook her head and said, "This is silly, we should really go ride some rides now. I mean, it _is _our first day here, and it's only 11:00 AM, so we still have plenty of time. We're here at the Mad Tea Party, so we might as well ride it."

And with that she took Rory's hand and pulled him towards the ride while calling, "Come on, you two..." to the Doctor and River.

River crossed her arms and looked at the Doctor with an arched eyebrow. "Well?"

"Well... let's go ride the ride!" he exclaimed; his enthusiasm returning. He grabbed River's hand and pulled her onto the ride. He picked a blue teacup and sat down in after helping River to step inside it (which was fairly difficult with her dress). Amy and Rory were sitting in a purple teacup on the other side of the ride. Colorful paper lanterns hung from the ceiling, and a large teapot stood in the centre of the circle of teacups. As it started, the "Unbirthday Song" started playing and the teacups started to spin at whatever speed their occupants made them spin. Amy and Rory's teacup was practically flying around the ride, while the Doctor and River's was barely moving. That was because they had a particularly difficult one to turn, and River was refusing to help the Doctor. She simply sat there with her arms crossed, glaring at him.

"River, _please! _It's no fun if you can't spin!" the Doctor whined.

"Then by all means, spin the cup," she replied icily.

Just at that point, it was like the brakes released on their teacup, and it started spinning completely out of control. The Doctor was no longer even touching the wheel at the centre of the cup to spin it, and it was still whirling faster and faster.

"I DON'T THINK IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE DOING THAT..." the Doctor said as he took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the teacup. Just then, all of the cups were braked, _hard_ for the ride to be able to stop. The sudden jerk nearly sent both River and the Doctor flying out of their teacup. The two of them sat gasping for a moment once the ride had ended. The ride operator came over to them and asked if they were alright. She had seen their teacup spinning nearly out of control and was sure that it was not possible for a person to spin one of them that hard. The Doctor assured her they were fine as he and River climbed out of the cup.

They found Amy and Rory waiting for them at the exit. Both Ponds looked concerned.

"What happened?" Amy asked.

"I'm not really sure... but something else was definitely controlling that teacup... Wow, that is not something I thought I'd be saying today..." the Doctor replied.

"I'm sure the brakes just took a while to release. They monitor everything in these parks so they run like clockwork," Rory theorized.

Amy looked at her husband and shook her head. "I think I'm going to take that guidebook away from you..."

The Doctor stood silently thinking for another moment before deciding that something must have simply malfunctioned on the ride. "So, what next?" he asked.

Amy took out a map and looked over it for a moment then looked around before saying, "Well, the Winnie the Pooh ride is right there... so, what the heck. Let's ride it."

And they started off towards it.

* * *

**OKAY! Note time:**

**1) The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is in Cinderella's Castle, and they do makeovers for little girls to make them look like princesses. It's cute for little kids, but I figure River and Amy would not particularly appreciate it. If you want to see what the makeovers actually look like, just google "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique" and you'll see pictures. (also thank you to Citizenofwhoville123, who suggested putting River in a princess gown!)**

**2) The Doctor and Rory went to the "Pirates League", which is similar to the Boutique, but in my personal opinion, much better because you get pirate makeovers. If you want to see what those look like, just google "Disney World Pirates League".**

**3) I'm sorry if Cinderella is anyone's favorite princess. I don't really like her, so I made River dislike her too.**

**Well, I think that's about it! As always, reviews are appreciated and suggestions are welcome! Until next time!**


	5. What's Wrong with the Rides?

**Hello, Sweeties! I appologize for the wait for this chapter. I had finals and my last week of school, and then right afterwards we left for a family trip to Mexico, where I had no internet with which to upload this chapter. (Not to mention the fact that I had horrible writer's block while writing it.)**

**So if there are any errors, please let me know so I can fix them.**

* * *

The Winnie the Pooh ride wsssas nice enough, although it was strange that it stopped a few times throughout its course and in a scene towards the end of the ride where it "rains", it actually _rained. _Just a bit, but enough that the part of River's hair that had been gelled and hairspray-ed into a bun just frizzed out of control further. Needless to say she was not amused.

Next, Amy chose for them to ride "Snow White's Scary Adventures". They got the "Dopey" car, and both women proceeded to make their husbands ride in the front seat to show who the dopey ones were. Everything went smoothly until the second to last scene of the ride, when the Dwarfs chase the Old Hag to the top of the cliff. The Hag stands above the door to the next scene, where she appears to be pushing a boulder down the mountain to crush the Dwarfs as they pursue her. The boulder tipped towards the car holding the Ponds as they passed under it, but actually proceeded to fall, narrowly missing the car and its occupants by about six inches.

The Doctor turned around and stared at the boulder, which was now blocking the path of the rest of the cars. He was about to jump out of their car to scan it with his sonic when all three Ponds grabbed him and held him down.

"There are sensors all over the ride, and if you get out of the car, you will trip them. Tripping those sensors will cause the entire ride to shut down and get us thrown out of the park. I may not be having a great time, but I don't want us to have to leave. _Stay put, Doctor_," River admonished.

The Doctor continued to stare behind the car even as they passed through the last scene. "But then why didn't the ride stop...?" he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

They then proceeded to ride the Carousel. Nothing out of the ordinary happened there except for the Doctor trying to sing along to all of the Disney music that was being played and Amy and River telling him to shut up.

After riding the Carousel, the two couples looked around at the rest of the rides around them in Fantasyland. Everyone but River agreed that they should go ride "It's a Small World" next.

As they wound through the queue, Amy noticed something move behind them. She turned to find nothing there. After a few more seconds, Rory turned to look behind them, but jumped and abruptly faced forward again when the large clock above them struck one thirty P.M. Amy also jumped at the sound of the clock strikes and looked at Rory.

"Did you see something too?" she asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I thought I did at first, but it was probably nothing..." he replied.

Amy shifted uncomfortably and was considering asking to not ride the ride, but they were already at the loading station and getting into their boat. It was with a bit of paranoia that Amy and Rory noticed that they had the entire boat to just the four of them, and the boat behind them wasn't loaded at all.

"Uh, Doctor?" Rory leaned forward to tell the Doctor what he and Amy had seen and felt, but at that moment the Doctor's head whipped around to follow something else he'd seen as their boat passed into the first scene of the ride.

"What was that...?" the Doctor mused out loud as he pulled out his sonic and started scanning around them.

Amy leaned forward. "Did you see it too, Doctor?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Not so much _see it,_ as _feel_ it... you know, just... an uncomfortable atmosphere..."

"Maybe it's just this annoying song..." River muttered. Just then, she saw something too. "Doctor... please tell me that's not what I think it is..."

The Doctor turned to see where River was pointing. Amid a group of animatronic children was something the most _certainly_ should not have been there: a Weeping Angel. Or, more accurately, an animatronic of a Weeping Angel, done in the style of the others on the ride.

"Ooohh, that is not good... That is very much not good..." the Doctor said after reading the results on the sonic and seeing the animatronic. "River, keep looking at the Angel. Don't blink."

"You _really_ needed to tell me that?" she quipped back as she stared at the animatronic. "I _know _what they can do..."

"Doctor...?" Amy whispered softly as she pointed at the other side of the scene. There was a tiny animatronic of a Silence.

The Doctor looked down at the readings on the sonic again. "Alright then, there is something very wrong here. So far there's been an Angel and Silence, but both were animatronics... animatronics much younger than the rest of the ones on this ride. Obviously, they have been added recently..." He looked at the sonic readings again. "Very recently. Like as in the past day..."

"There's another one..." Rory said, pointing through the archway into the next scene where there was a tiny Dalek animatron. It was moving its eyestalk as if it were searching for something.

"Doctor, what are all of these things? What are they doing here?" Amy asked while continuing to stare at the animatronic Silence.

"I'm not sure... but I have an idea..." He looked around for the nearest animatronic version of one of his foes. A tiny Cyberman was closest. The Doctor pointed the sonic towards the robot, and the image of the Cyberman sputtered and disappeared. In its place was one of the normal animatronics of a singing child.

He then turned to one of the Dalek animatronics. It noticed the Doctor's movement and began yelling its trademark "EXTERMINATE" and shooting beams of electricity towards the boat. However, where as a Dalek shot would normally leave a scorch mark on the surface it hit (as long as it wasn't a human), there was no trace of a hit on any surface. The Doctor pointed the sonic once more, and again, the image of the Dalek wavered, disappeared, and left only one of the animatronic children in its place.

Another animatronic Dalek had appeared on the other side of the boat. River had pulled out her blaster, and was preparing to shoot it when the Doctor grabbed her arm to stop her.

"It's just another animatronic. Something is using a perception filter to make us see some of them as Daleks, Cybermen, and Angels." he warned.

"And Silence," Amy reminded. She was still staring at it, afraid to look away and forget.

"Amy," the Doctor said. "You can look away from it. It's not real."

"But that still leaves one other problem..." River pointed out as she aimed he blaster at another animatronic of a Weeping Angel. "If an image of an Angel becomes, itself, an Angel, then what do animatronics count as, and what will they do?"

"That is a good question..." the Doctor responded as he looked around to see if there were any more Angels. "I'd say, to be safe, the usual: Don't blink, and don't look into its eyes. Does anyone know how close we are to the end of the ride?"

Rory looked in the guidebook and answered, "It says in here that there's twelve scenes, and I'm pretty sure that we're in the ninth or tenth... So close, but not quite close enough..."

"All right, need to think... think an hope there aren't any more Angels..." the Doctor muttered to himself. "Of course! If they're under a perception filter, then the filter needs to be in a central location somewhere in here, and we'll need to disable it..." He began looking around the ride, his eyes searching everywhere. River also looked around, knowing what to search for.

"Amy, Rory, keep looking at the Angels..." she warned.

The boat continued to drift, and they had arrived in the final scene before the Doctor or River had found anything that remotely resembled a perception filter.

"It's not possible for a perception filter to disguise itself, is it?" River asked as they floated through the final scene. So far, the animatronics in the scene were in their normal form.

"No, it's been tried many times to make a perception filter that can disguise itself as well as its surroundings, but it was never successfully completed..." the Doctor answered as he continued to look around. Just then, the Doctor kicked something on the floor of the boat. "Hello, what's this?" he asked as he leaned down to get a better look.

Just then, Amy and Rory both saw something move out of the corners of their eyes, and felt the same shiver that they'd felt in the ride queue. They noticed whatever it/they was/were, they somehow caused the animatronics to change suddenly into the aliens, and in the rafters above them, they heard some wild screeching and snarling.

"Doctor!" Amy yelled, causing the Doctor to hit his head rather hard on one of the seats in the boat as he tried to sit up from his crouched position on the floor. River looked up in time to see something disappearing into the rafters. The Doctor wasn't able to look in time, but he immediately scanned the area where the creature had been.

"We saw part of that thing while we were in the queue!" Rory shouted.

"Well why didn't anyone tell me about this BEFORE we got on the ride?" the Doctor shouted back as he looked at the readings on the sonic. Upon seeing what it said he muttered to himself, "Ohhh, not good. Very, very not good... what _are you?"_

"Doctor, what was that thing?" Amy asked, still staring at the spot in the ceiling where the creature had disappeared.

Rory, on the other hand, was looking at the animatronics surrounding them in the scene. "Guys... look..."

The other three tore their gazes from the ceiling to the scene around them. All of the animatronics were back to normal with no trace of any change having taken place.

River turned to the Doctor. "You can't go anywhere without trouble following you, can you? Because that thing... that wasn't from Earth. I know it wasn't... And honestly, of all places to find an alien? It would... oh."

"Exactly."

"Um, can someone fill us in on the conclusion you two just came to?" Amy broke in.

The Doctor ignored her for a moment and fiddled with some settings on the sonic.

River shook her head at him and turned to Amy and Rory. "It would never be noticed. In a place like this park, where there are so many things that are out of the ordinary and fantastical... I mean, there are animatronics of everything from children," she gestured to the scene around them, which they were finally exiting, "...to animals, to "imaginary" creatures, to, well, aliens. Something could probably hide here for years."

"And whatever it is, it knows we're here, and it does not like that, one bit," the Doctor said as he put his sonic away.

The boat pulled through the last arch and back to the loading dock. There was no line and no other boats to be seen in front of them. The lights were off, except for a few emergency floodlights. Their boat stopped and they were able to get out. A castmember rushed over to them and said, "Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry. We sent someone to come get you out, but we couldn't find you! It's a wonder the boat got back here on its own..."

"Wait, why were you sending someone to come get us?" Rory asked.

"Well, look around! We lost power on the entire ride. We're running on emergency backup generators right now. We sent someone back to find all of you and walk you out of the ride, but all he found were empty boats. We weren't sure what to think, or do for that matter. I mean, it was like you four had vanished! I'm sorry you must have been stuck in a dark, broken down ride. Here..." She handed them four fastpasses. "These are good for any ride in the Magic Kingdom for any time, any day. We're so sorry for the inconvenience."

The Doctor and the three Ponds exited the ride. The four looked at each other.

Rory spoke first. "So... whatever that thing was, it not only created a perception filter, but a really _really_ strong one."

"Yes, incredibly strong. Strong enough to make it seem like the entire ride was still running... But then how was the boat still moving?" the Doctor wondered as he began to pace.

"And what was that _thing?_" Amy asked.

"We should look for something that could have been on a ride. That seems the most logical explanation for it being able to hide here for so long because it obviously knows what it's doing. "

"So... we're looking for an alien... in Disney World?"

The Doctor looked up and grinned like a five year old. "We're looking for an alien in Disney World."

"Oh, fantastic! I was beginning to get a bit bored. Just one thing, Sweetie..." River remarked to the Doctor.

"Yes?"

"Amy and I are definitely changing out of the princess dresses first."

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**Just one quick note: Snow White's Scary Adventures closed on May 31st of this year. However, I always loved the ride, and I wanted to include it. (Not to mention the fact that the TARDIS _is_ a time machine and the Doctor can visit Disney at any time.)**

**As always, reviews are appreciated and encouraged.**


	6. The ExtraTERRORestrial

"All right! Let's get started here. First, we'll need to find out what it is and where it's from. Well, what ride it was originally from, that is."

The Doctor and the Ponds were standing next to the Carousel in Fantasyland. River and Amy had changed out of the princess dresses, and Rory had gotten rid of his hook. The Doctor, however, was still in full pirate costume.

"Sweetie, do you _really_ need to wear that? Or is your normal outfit not ridiculous enough for you anymore?" River quipped.

"River! I'm a pirate, and pirates are cool! Besides, it's not even conspicuous since other people are wearing them too!"

River rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Not the adults..."

"Anyway, so we need to find information on the rest of the rides. Rory, does that guidebook say anything about any rides with aliens?"

Rory flipped through the pages. "No... Wait... Here's one. _Stitch's Great Escape_... Do you think that's it?"

Amy looked over his shoulder to the book. "No, that can't be right. I've seen the movie _Lilo and Stitch_, and Stitch can't do any of the stuff that other thing just did with perception filters and stuff... And he doesn't really look anything like the thing we saw either."

"Maybe it's something from an older ride? One that hasn't been in the park for a while... Or maybe it's from a ride in one of the other parks?" River suggested.

The Doctor shook his head. "Perhaps, but because it's in the Magic Kingdom right now, I think we should just keep the search here for now. If we could get ahold of an old guide book..."

At that moment, a brunet teenage girl walked by, reading and walking. However, the Doctor caught sight of the title of the book in her hands: _Birnbaum's 2001 Walt Disney World: Expert Advice from the Inside Source (the official guide)._

"Like that!" the Doctor exclaimed happily as he rushed over to the girl. He tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Hello! Would you mind telling me if there's anything in that book about rides with aliens?"

The girl looked slightly taken aback but nodded and answered, "Yeah, but it's not here anymore. The ride closed at the end of 2002 or 2003. I mean, there's still _Stitch's Great Escape, _but there used to be another alien ride (well, it wasn't a ride, it was really a show) in the same building. It was called _The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter_. They had to close it though because apparently it was just too scary, and there was this live video part at the beginning that had an actor in it who got into a lot of trouble for something, so Disney didn't want to have the ride anymore. Basically, it was the same as the Stitch show is now, just with a really nasty, hostile, homicidal alien."

"Wow, she..." River gestured at the girl. "...rambles as much as he does!" She gestured at the Doctor.

"Hostile and homicidal? What could they have possibly had it do that they were permitted to have this ride, but it was still that scary?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, here this is what the show was." The girl handed the book to the Doctor. The passage read as follows:

_"The premise is this: The Convention Center is hosting X-S Tech, a mysterious company from a distant planet. X-S Tech's objective is to impress earthlings with its high-tech products... Guests are shown to a circular auditorium with a large teleporter in the center. Screens around the theater display a live transmission from their planet. Restraints are suddenly lowered onto guests' shoulders. Just then, O-S Tech's Chairman Clench volunteers to be teleported to the Magic Kingdom._

_Special effects abound as guests await the arrival of Chairman Clench. But something goes wrong, and an angry alien is transported into the audience as the theater goes black. Next comes a series of creepy sensations designed to convince everyone that the monster has found its way to the their side. And, no, you are not imagining it-something really is breathing down your neck."_

The Doctor closed the book and looked at the girl. "Did you ever ride the ride... You look old enough to have ridden it while it was still here..."

"No, I never rode it, but I know people who did. They said that it really did feel like something was breathing down your neck or licking you, and even in one part, apparently the alien "kills" a worker who tries to fix the lights, and his blood runs out of the ceiling. Really creepy stuff, and I've seen pictures of the alien. It was really freaky looking too."

"What did it look like? Tell me as much as you can remember!"

"Uhh, okay... Um, it was kind of like a dragon? It had wings, and claws, and its body was segmented kind of like an insect's. I think it had red glowing eyes too. If you don't mind my asking, why do you care so much?"

"OH! Um, well, you see... My friends were looking for a ride that may be a bit more frightening than many of the ones we've ridden so far... And we heard about a scary alien ride and wanted to ride it!"

"Well, I'm sorry, mister, but you're about nine years too late!"

"That's quite alright... where is the Stitch ride, by the way?"

The girl made a face. "It's across from the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor in Tomorrowland, close to the walkway to the Central Plaza in front of the Castle. But really, you don't want to ride it. It's really lame, and it smells bad."

"Oh, well... alright. Thank you! Oh, here's your book, and I didn't catch your name..."

"Katherine."

"Well, thank you very much, Katherine." The Doctor handed Katherine her book and walked back over to the three Ponds.

"We have a description and location for our alien. Let's go."

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**Short chapter, I know, but it's still important.**

**Bonus points to anyone who knows or can guess who Katherine is. :)**

**Here's a link to a website with a story on scary rides and attractions in Disney parks around the world. ** www*inside the magic*dot*net /2011/10 from-halloween-to- alien-encounter-disney-themeparks -vary-scares-worldwide -as-cultures-collide

**Just take out the spaces and stars (and replace the "dot" with a "."). It has a picture of the alien, but you have to scroll down a bit to get to it.**

**As always, reviews are appreciated and encouraged, and suggestions are welcome.**


	7. Then it just made a big mistake

The Ponds and the Doctor were standing underneath the Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland. After talking to Katherine, they had hurried over to that section of the park to find _Stitch's Great Escape_.

"So, the ride that thing was from is gone, yeah?" Amy asked the Doctor as they stood before the building.

"Yes, and it has been for almost a decade now. So it's been hiding for a while, although, I'm not sure where yet..." he answered.

"Well, we could always look inside... I mean, to get an idea of its environment at least. The girl did say that they didn't change the ride much, right?" River suggested. "It's worth a look."

The Doctor thought for a moment. "True, it may even be possible for it to have continued to hide in there if the building is big enough..." And with that he ran off to the entrance of the ride.

"Soooo, we're going to go right into the alien's "lair" I guess?" Rory asked to no one in particular as they followed the Doctor.

Amy took his arm and nodded. "Yes. Yes we are."

"Alright then."

They wound through the many turnstiles to a preshow that was basically empty. An animatronic of one of the aliens from the Galactic Federation in _Lilo and Stitch_ was explaining the guard training procedure for the "new recruits" (aka. the guests in line). _"You will be charged with guarding experiment 626 while he is waiting for deportation..."_

River watched the screen and chuckled. "Well, isn't this a change? Me being the guard to another prisoner in an intergalactic prison..."

"Well, it is all fake, River..." the Doctor said a bit nervously.

River rolled her eyes. "I _KNOW that_, Sweetie..."

The doors then opened to a large circular room with a large glass tube in the middle. The seats were arranged in three levels surrounding the glass tube. The Doctor walked to the front row, motioning to the others to follow. He took a seat on the end of the row, followed by River, then Amy, then Rory. The other people who had been in the preshow area walked straight through the room to the exit; the small child with them was already crying. As both sets of doors shut, the Ponds and the Doctor were the only people in the room.

The lights dimmed and a voice came over some loudspeakers, telling the audience that they were about to transport 626 to the chamber. None of them were really listening. As the tube in the centre of the room started to fill with smoke, restraints lowered from behind them. The Doctor put his arms over his head to keep the harness from actually reaching his shoulders. Amy and Rory did the same as the Doctor, but their restraints ended up a bit lower. River shot hers.

The Doctor stared at her for a moment. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes, but more importantly, why do they even have seat restraints in what is supposed to be a "show", not a ride?"

"Apparently there is a part of the ride where they hit the harness, so it feels like the alien (Stitch now, I guess) is jumping on your shoulders. Originally they were installed to make the audience feel claustrophobic and trapped."

"But what if they were there to actually _trap_ the audience?"

The Doctor's eyes widened. River stared back at him.

"Doctor, if that thing can affect its surroundings like a perception filter, then who's to say that it isn't doing that _right now? _I think we may have just walked into a huge trap."

"Well, then it just made a big mistake, didn't it?"

Just then the smoke in the tube cleared.

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**Oooooh, cliffhanger!**

**Sorry for the short chapter... I'm hitting some bad writer's block again. :P**

**Anyway, as always, reviews are appreciated and encouraged, as are creative suggestions and constructive criticism.**


	8. All but One

**This chapter was actually supposed to go up yesterday. I had almost the whole thing written when my Word crashed and I lost everything. So here it is today.**

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The smoke in the tube cleared to reveal an animatronic of Stitch. All three of the Ponds and the Doctor relaxed for a moment, but River and the Doctor were both quick to be on alert again; the Doctor scanning the room with the sonic and River disengaging the safety on her gun.

The Doctor looked at the readings on his sonic and muttered to himself, "Very, very much not good..."

Amy leaned out to see him and asked, "Doctor, is that it then? We just wait? It doesn't even seem like there's anything here!"

River shook her head and responded while the Doctor scanned for a few more readings. "This entire building could still be under a perception filter. The creature could be here, and we may not even know it... and unfortunately, I think that is the most likely ca-"

"SHHHH!" the Doctor suddenly said. "Listen..."

All four went completely silent and listened. Somewhere above them, there was the sound of claws scraping metal and breathing.

"River, you were right. This is a trap. It's not even bothering to use the perception filter..." the Doctor whispered. "Look."

Across the room from them, through a hole in the wall, there appeared a pair of glowing red eyes.

"Doctor...?" Amy whispered frantically and looked over at him.

The creature began to crawl out through the wall. It was hideous.

The Doctor shook his head. "Of course... it would never have a problem hiding here..."

"Doctor, what is that thing?" Rory asked.

"It's a Trancitluzion. You remember that Nimon Minotaur that we met a while back in the prison ship disguised as a hotel? Well, this creature is a distant cousin of it. I've never actually seen one in person before...The Trancitluzions are creatures that feed off of the ideas and imaginations of others, and by doing that, they can actually twist things around in your mind. They don't use a perception filter, they literally twist what you do perceive right in your mind themselves. And judging by the size of this one, I'd say that it has been here longer than this building, and maybe even longer than this park. It must have landed here a long time ago..."

"And no one would ever notice because it would just twist their brain waves..." River added as she caught on.

"Well, yes. If they didn't devour you..."

The creature was now through the wall and stalking slowly towards them and it spoke. It's voice was like Prisoner Zero's, but slightly deeper and more guttural. "Foolish beings, you should not have searched for me..."

The Doctor stared calmly at the alien. "What are you doing here? How did you get here? You're a long, long way from home... about two thousand galaxies away, I'd say. What brought you here?"

The Trancitluzion continued forward and did not answer. It was now only about eight feet away. It spoke again. "I came to feast. Feast on the imaginings and minds of the weak little humans here. I have thrived, while the weak have died..." As it drew even closer, a pair of ugly wings began to unfurl from its back... wings that were more like giant sets of claws.

"Of course it would come here... or stay here at least," he looked over at the Ponds.

"Children," River said, following what the Doctor was getting at. "Such unprotected, yet imaginative and creative minds..."

The creature spoke again. "And I shall feast on all of you too... except for the one." It stopped and looked at River. Her eyes widened for a moment, but otherwise, any surprise she may have felt was hidden. "You shall watch the others die," the creature hissed out as it sprang.

River fired her gun, the shot penetrating the Trancitluzion right between its eyes. It fell to the ground, bleeding a foul grey blood. It looked up at her and rasped, "You shall watch the others die first." With that it closed its eyes, never to open them again.

Through all of this, the normal show with Stitch had continued, and as his animatronic reappeared in the tube, then disappeared again, the narrator from the beginning of the ride came back on and said something about that being a "close call". The seat restraints released, and Amy and Rory were able to get up. River and the Doctor looked at the creature on the floor.

"What do we do with it?" River asked as she replaced her gun to its holster.

"We take it to the people who engineer and design the rides... I believe they call them the "Imagineers". They need to know what has been hiding in this place for so long," the Doctor responded.

A voice sounded from the exit door. "No need to bring it to us; we know."

The Ponds and the Doctor looked up as a few people walked into the room and began to remove the alien. The one who had spoken walked up to the Doctor. "We had a very good idea, but we weren't sure where or what that thing was. Strange things happen in the parks a lot, but there have been too many accidents lately. You are not to speak a word of what has happened here to anybody. We have done our best to keep all of our guests safe."

The Doctor stared incredulously at the man for a moment. "Excuse me? You have an idea that there is a hostile presence in the park, you have a general idea where it is, and you _continue_ to allow people to ride the attraction it's in? No. No, you did NOT do your best. Close this place, this building. Do not let anyone in for the next 48 hours. Check the rest of the park. Stop all of the rides if you have to, because if you don't do everything you can to make sure everyone in this park is safe then _I will."_

The man stared at the Doctor for a moment. "The ride _is _closed. We came over because we got word that someone had apparently gotten inside anyway. The doors were _locked._ How _did_ you get in?"

River walked over to stand next to the Doctor and answered. "The doors just opened normally for us. We thought the ride was open. There were actually other people in line with us at the preshow, but the left when we came in here because they had a small child with them. It was crying, so they left."

The man looked over at the other men who had, at this point, covered the body of the alien with a cloth and placed it on a stretcher of sorts to be able to move it. "It must have over-ridden the security. It was getting even more powerful than we thought."

Rory and Amy also moved to stand next to the Doctor and River. Rory commented softly to them, "Maybe that other family was part of the perception filter... to make us think the ride was open and operating normally."

The Doctor was lost in his own thoughts at the moment, but River nodded over to her father and replied. "It would make sense. It was just too convenient that they left. Yes, I think that this was a trap, and they were the bait." He turned and looked at the man. "What do you do with it now?"

"We study it. Not too much, but enough to know what to look for to see if there's any more of these around. We're a ...special... division here at the premises... and we'd appreciate it if you don't mention us to anybody."

"Secret division."

"Exactly. Don't tell on us, and we won't tell on you... Doctor. Oh yes, we know who you are. Now, you must all be concerned about this. Doctor, you can come with us if you like, to make sure the rest of the park is safe, but your friends can't. We can't have too many people with us."

The Doctor looked over at the Ponds. "You can go back to the hotel or stay on Main Street. I'll be back shortly, and then we can try to decide what we want to do."

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**I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. I chose a ride in Disney I don't know very well and one I never rode for the creature/battle. I used an explanation adapted from an episode of DW that I didn't like very much. I know what I _want _to write in this story, but I don't know if I'll be able to now with the direction that it has been heading. So, if updates are a bit slower now, I'm sorry, but I need to sort this out.**

**Well, in any case, reviews are _greatly appreciated _and highly encouraged. I need to know that enough people are enjoying this story enough for me to continue with it.**

**(But even if I don't, it's not over yet. Nowhere near, actually...)**


	9. Explanations and Plans

**Thank you so much to anyone who gave me feedback on the last chapter. I really appreciated it, and it helped me to move forward and write this chapter.**

**A quick disclaimer before the story: Some events are mentioned in here about the background of the Trancitluzion, and they are all ficticious and only in here to give it some more (hopefully) believablility. No workers were actually harmed in the building of the ride (as far as I know).**

* * *

A few hours later, the Ponds and the Doctor were sitting out on the balcony of the Doctor and River's room, discussing the events of the day. The clock read 5:37; they'd barely been on Disney property for twenty four hours, and already they'd nearly been killed by a hostile alien in two separate rides.

"What did they tell you? Or show you?" River asked the Doctor after he'd mentioned the agents briefly.

"Well, they took me to an area where they... well, it seemed to be a kind of prison almost? There were a few other things there... I really don't know what they were, but they were locked up there. When I asked they just told me that was classified information. Apparently they've been monitoring the Magic Kingdom park very closely because there have been quite a few strange occurrences lately, but nothing that lead to anyone being hurt. Things like rides malfunctioning a bit more than usual, people seeing things that are obviously out of place or not part of a specific ride or attraction within a certain few areas, etc. Stuff of that sort. They had the _Stitch_ ride closed because there had been a few reports of it severely malfunctioning, and I'm sure you can guess some of the stuff that had been happening. They saw when we went in because obviously, the front doors were supposedly locked, and all of the power in the ride shut down. Actually, nothing was turned on the entire time we were in there."

"So that was all through the perception filter effect then?" Rory asked.

"Yes. The reason we thought it wasn't using it was because it was actually using it on everything in the entire building except for itself.

"In addition, I found out by scanning some of their computers for information, that the alien was indeed on this property before the parks were even built. There had been sightings of a strange creature for about ten years beforehand, but mostly they were dismissed as alligator sightings, since those are pretty common here. There was actually one account of it attacking someone, but I didn't have time to scan for that full report.

"Also, when they were building that attraction, it wasn't originally supposed to be that alien. It was supposed to be something else. One day while working on some electrical work, a team saw a creature in the rafters of the building. When one went to investigate, he didn't come back..."

"Oh my god, didn't that girl who told you about the ride to begin with say something about there being a part in the show where the alien attacked a worker?" River broke in as she caught on to what the Doctor was getting at.

"Yes. I honestly can't believe why they would choose to put that into the attraction then... that poor man's family... but they put a model of the creature in because they were afraid. They figured that giving it the attraction might be a way to appease it. Besides the fact that the real Trancitluzion was not seen again until -well- today, just proved their theory that it would keep the creature happy."

Amy broke in here. "But something had to have happened, yeah? To make them re-do the ride for Stitch?"

"Popularity. People were becoming bored with the old ride, and those that weren't bored were the younger children, who were just terrified of it. So they changed it, replacing the old, hostile alien with Stitch. Maybe they also hoped that the old creature was gone, or that it had never really existed in the first place. In any case, they remade the ride, and then the strange occurrences started. Just small things at first, but they've been escalating ever since."

"Doctor, that thing should have been more powerful... I honestly didn't think that shooting it would even hurt it that much, let alone kill it. It seems like it was too easy."

"Yes. It does, but hopefully (for once) it just means that things were easy. In any case, I think we should stay here a few more days to make sure of it."

River looked displeased, to say the least. Amy and Rory both looked a bit worried and incredulous.

"I understand that we have to stay to make sure things are still safe, but what are we going to _do_ for those few days then?" Rory asked.

The Doctor smiled for the first time since they'd seen him arrive back at the hotel. "We're going to explore the other three parks, of course!"

River stared at him for a moment, then stood and walked back into their room, grabbed a room key and went to leave.

"Where are you going?" the Doctor asked a bit flusteredly as he watched her.

River shook her head and responded, "For a walk around the hotel," and left.

The Doctor sunk down into his chair and after a moment, looked at Amy and Rory.

Amy sighed and said to the Doctor, "How are we possibly going to be able to enjoy the other parks after what happened today? I mean, Doctor, I thought for once we were going to try to have a _normal _family vacation!"

The Doctor smiled sadly. "So did I."

All three were silent for a bit.

Then the Doctor spoke again. "And of course I don't want to just leave when River is this flustered with everything... I brought us here for her! But you know that, and I won't repeat myself. It's just... it doesn't seem to be working. I mean, she's more tense and well, she doesn't even have her usual smug, flirty... River-ness."

"Well, sending the two of us to the princess thing as the very first thing we did in the park was _probably not the best idea._ Oh, don't give me that look! I know you meant well, but your intentions were just a bit... misplaced," Amy said with a small chuckle. "Maybe you should go talk to her. Or better yet, take her somewhere to talk to her, like dinner or something... Actually, speaking of dinner, what time is it? I just realized I'm starving!"

The Doctor sat for a moment thinking over Amy's suggestion. "Pond, you are brilliant!" he finally exclaimed. He jumped up from his seat and clapped his hands together. "Now, Mr. and Mrs. Pond, where would the two of you like to eat? We'll find someplace for the two of you, and I will take River somewhere!" _And I know just where to take her... _He thought to himself.

* * *

**A fluffy chapter up next. (I've been wanting to write one very badly.)**

**As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and encouraged!**


	10. A Date

The Doctor was pacing through their room and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Are you ready yet, River?"

"Sweetie, you literally just asked me that two and a half minutes ago, and the answer is still no. Honestly though... if this surprise is anything like the one earlier today, I swear..."

"No! No nononononono! It's not, believe me." He paused in his pacing to adjust his bowtie again. "Believe me, I am _certain_ that you will like this one!" He was grinning from ear to ear with anticipation at the evening to come. They had managed to get Amy and Rory a reservation at the Spirit of Aloha dinner show/luau at the Polynesian hotel. They'd taken the monorail over to it about a half hour before.

River finally emerged from the bathroom, her hair and makeup finally finished. The Doctor could only stare. "River... I, uh... well, you look... uh... wow."

River smirked a bit. She was wearing a deep blue, knee length cocktail dress and had her hair partially pinned up. She walked over to the closet and pulled out a pair of silver high heels.

"I don't understand why we have to get so dressed up. I can't imagine there being any restaurants here that are _that _fancy..." she said as she pulled the shoes on.

The Doctor smiled. "You'd be surprised..." He walked over to the dresser, picked up his top hat and went to put it on, but River swiped it out of his hand and set it back down.

"I don't care if the restaurant is fancy, I'm sure it won't be _that_ fancy, and I _really_ don't think you'll need that."

The Doctor pouted. "Do you hate all of my hats?"

River genuinely smiled for what was possibly the first time that day. "No, actually, I do quite like that one... but just save it for another time. Your suit is enough."

"Well, can I at least take the sonic cane?"

"No. Come on, you were the one wanting me to hurry up, so let's go."

The Doctor pouted for another moment as he looked over at where he had previously propped up the sonic cane. _Why does River always insist upon ruining my perfectly good outfits? I'm sure this suit has nowhere near as much of an impact without the hat or cane..._

His thoughts were interrupted by River grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the room. They walked through the grounds over to the main building and the monorail station, waiting for one that would take them the right direction. They boarded the one with a salmon-pink stripe, and it started off in the direction of the Magic Kingdom.

River looked out the window. "Oh, please tell me we're not going back to the park..."

"No, we're not, but this monorail is faster than taking the one going the other direction for where we're going."

The train stopped at the Magic Kingdom stop. A few people got off, but many more got on. Then, it continued on to the next stop: the Contemporary hotel.

When the monorail stopped in there, the Doctor jumped up and offered River his arm. "_This_ is where we're getting off." They stepped out and looked around.

"It's strange that the train passes right through the middle of the hotel." River remarked as they walked over to a set of elevators.

"Yes, you know, it's the only hotel here to have that feature, and possibly the only hotel on any Disney property around the world to have that! And on the other side of this wall, there is a tile mural, ninety feet high that depicts various scenes of the American southwest... I'm not really sure what that has to do with the theme of the rest of the hotel, but it has a five-legged goat, which is cool! And then of course, there's th-"

River placed a finger over the his mouth to silence him. His eyes crossed as he tried to look at her finger on his lips.

"I was just making one simple comment, my Love. You don't have to give me all of the information on the rest of the building."

The elevator came, and the Doctor pressed the button for the top floor. The doors opened after a few moments, revealing the entrance to a restaurant: the California Grille. They stepped inside, and the Doctor walked over to the host. "Hello! We have a reservation for two at eight-thirty."

The host smiled. "Yes, right this way please." He led them through the restaurant to the other side to a table next to the windows, looking out over the Seven Seas Lagoon. They could also see across to the Floridian and Polynesian, as well as the Magic Kingdom.

The Doctor pulled out River's chair and then seated himself across from her. River looked around herself.

"It's very nice." Just then, a waiter came over with a bottle of very nice, vintage wine and poured some into River's glass. He then left the bottle next to the table in an ice cooler. River thanked the waiter, then looked at the Doctor and said with a raised eyebrow, "You told them to bring that? But you won't even drink any."

"Well, I figured you would want some." The waiter returned and poured a glass of water for the Doctor.

River smiled and looked around again when she noticed something a bit odd. "We're the only ones in here..."

The Doctor just nodded and smiled, his eyes twinkling. "I know."

They ordered their meals and talked. When the food came, they ate in companionable silence. After they were done eating, River brought up the question she'd been meaning to ask since their encounter with the creature earlier that day.

"Doctor... why did that Trancitluzion say it would kill the rest of you but not me?"

The Doctor, who had been smiling, laughing, and acting like his usual four-year-old-in-a-nine-hundred-year-old-Timelord's-body, was suddenly serious, and his eyes got that far-away, sad look that made him look so very old. He just looked at River and didn't answer right away.

Just then, a great colorful flash lit up the sky. River looked out, and after a moment, the was another great flash. It was coming from the Magic Kingdom.

The fireworks had started.

She gasped. It was a beautiful view. From where they were sitting, not only were the fireworks themselves visible, but they reflected out on to the Seven Seas Lagoon, making it look like there were flashes of fire and color racing across the surface of the water. The Castle was also visible, and because she was so caught up in the view, River completely forgot about her question.

The Doctor smiled a small smile, and instead of watching the fireworks right away, he watched River's face as she watched them. The different colors washed over her face, and she had a look of wonder in her eyes as the lights sparkled and reflected in them. After a few moments, he moved to the other side of the table so he could sit right next to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they watched the rest of the fireworks, just the two of them.

"Thank you, my Love." she whispered after the fireworks were over.

"...Are you still mad at me?"

"No, you are completely forgiven," she responded as she took his face in her hands and kissed him with all of the love she could possibly put into one kiss.

* * *

**No, this isn't the end, just a bit of a break point. More action is coming, but I just NEEDED to write some fluff.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has favorited, alerted, or reviewed the story so far. I've never had a story this popular before, and I really, REALLY appreciate all of the support. Please, continue to let me know what you think!**


	11. To the Next Hotel!

The next morning, everyone met in the Doctor's and River's room. The Doctor said he had something important to tell everyone. When Amy and Rory walked in, he jumped up and beamed at them.

"Alright then! I hope the luau dinner show was nice last night?" he asked the couple.

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun!" Amy replied with a smile. "Did you two go anywhere last night? Was it any good?"

River smiled. "We went to the California Grille at the Contemporary hotel, and it was _very _good."

The Doctor beamed proudly.

"Yes, for once, he picked somewhere normal and decent for dinner."

The Doctor's expression changed from proud to puppy-dog face in an instant. "What's wrong with the restaurants I usually pick?"

"Oh, nothing Sweetie... as long as you want to be _eating _and not _eaten_. But anyway, why did you gather us all here?"

"Well, I figured since we're going to be staying here for a few more days, we should try some of the other hotels! So, Ponds, just go pack up your things and take them to the TARDIS, and I'll help River pack, then we'll all go to another hotel! There are so many cool looking ones here, I just want to try them all!"

"You're serious?" Amy asked incredulously. "But this place is so nice! And besides that..."

The conversation soon turned into an argument, and the Doctor won. Soon, they all had their things packed and were walking through the lobby, then towards the side garden where they'd parked the TARDIS.

When they walked outside, they were greeted by the friendly old man again, and he asked, "You folks leaving already? You've only been here, what... a day or two?"

"Yes, we have, and we _are_ leaving, but we aren't leaving Disney World. Just the hotel. It's not that we didn't like it (in fact, we loved it!), but there are so many other cool hotels... I want to try them all!" the Doctor rambled in response. River put her hand on his arm to slow him down enough for the other man to get a word in.

"Well, I'm glad to know that you've enjoyed your stay so far, and I hope that whichever hotel you try next, you like it as much as you liked this one! But, I am pretty sure that you won't be able to try _all_ of the hotels," he said with a chuckle. "There are _quite_ a few of them here on property, and you'd be here for a very long time if you tried to stay at all of them! But safe travels to you, and we hope to see you here again soon!" The man waved to them as they walked away towards the TARDIS.

It was still in the garden, and the four of them walked in and set down their luggage. The Doctor bounded up the stairs to the console and began to set coordinates, but River hurried after him and began to fly the ship herself.

"River! What are you doing? I wasn't done putting in the coordinates yet!"

"Sweetie, I think it would be best if we let the Old Girl decide where she wants to take us, and if I'm flying her, at least I can know that we will arrive on the same day as we left, and not a few days or months later."

The Doctor grumbled as he pulled one last lever and then went to sulk in the console chair. After only a few moments, the TARDIS came to a halt.

"You didn't let it make the sound!"

"How many times have I told you, she's not supposed to make that sound! And we don't know where we've landed, so it's best not to draw attention to ourselves... as if I blue box materializing out of nowhere isn't enough of an unusual sight..."

Instead of doing an environment scan, the Doctor bounded back down the steps and pulled open the doors. What he saw made his whole face light up.

"River... you promise you'll let us stay wherever the she landed us?"

"Yes, my Love, we'll stay wherever she landed us."

"Good." He stroked the doorframe and whispered, "Thanks, Old Girl," with a smile to the TARDIS.

"So where are we?" Amy asked, as she poked her head around the Doctor to see where they were.

Rory came over and tried to see around Amy. "It looks like a carnival... an old carnival."

Finally River came down the stairs to the doors. They all stepped outside the TARDIS, and looked around. They were underneath a curving white arch that was completely lined with white lights around the edges. Old fashioned carnival calliope music filled the air.

"Are you sure we're still in Disney? This looks more like Coney Island..." River observed. "late 19th, early 20th century Coney Island."

The Doctor stepped out from the overhanging arch to see what it said on the front and read out, "Boardwalk. This must be the Boardwalk hotel! Perfect! Let's go inside!"

They walked into the lobby, which was large, although nowhere near as large as the lobby of the Grand Floridian had been. There was a large fireplace with a sculpture of an elephant over it. On one side, there was a small model of an old wooden roller coaster, and right when you walked in, there was a circular set of couches that hid a pedestal that held up a gorgeous, 1910 toy carousel.

The Doctor was beaming from ear to ear as he looked around. "Oh, we are _definitely _staying here!" With that, he walked over to the receptionist and proceeded to get them two rooms through the use of psychic paper.

"It's pretty nice," Rory conceded as he, Amy, and River continued to look around.

"Let's look outside!" Amy exclaimed upon noticing the large balcony attached to the back of the building. She grabbed Rory by one hand and River by the other and led them outside. "Wow..."

All three were a bit stunned. "It actually _is_ an _entire_ boardwalk..." Rory said with some disbelief.

"Well, it looks like this area might be a little more lively! I like it so far..." River agreed.

Just then, the Doctor came outside. "We have rooms! Let's go get our luggage, and then we can either explore, or go right to one of the parks. From here, we can walk or take a boat over to both the Hollywood Studios park and Epcot, so pick which one you want to go to today!"

"Hollywood Studios sounds good," River said.

"Cool! We'll take the boat over after we get our room! Geronimo!" he cried as he sprinted back towards the TARDIS to get the luggage.

All three of the Ponds just smiled and shook their heads.

* * *

**This chapter was mostly just a transition for them to go to the Hollywood Studios park. I wanted them to be able to take the boat over. :)**

**Sorry for the wait. Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up much sooner than this one was.**

**Como siempre, (as always) reviews are encouraged and appreciated!**


	12. Hollywood Studios and a Malevolent Hotel

After taking their luggage to their rooms (they had little suites next to each other that even had little gardens next to the patios, and pool view), and exploring the new hotel just a bit, they set off for the dock. The boat pulled up fairly soon, and they climbed in. From the Boardwalk, the boat stopped at the Beach Club and Yacht Club resorts and the Swan and Dolphin hotel before continuing on to the Hollywood Studios park. The ride was a pleasant one, and the Doctor was very happy to see a family of ducks swimming near the boat.

"Look at how cute the ducklings are!"

The Ponds all shook their heads and smiled at his childish enthusiasm.

The boat docked, and they disembarked to make their way towards the bag inspection and turnstiles. Once inside the park, old 1930s big-band jazz music played, and they found themselves on a street that looked as though they had just walked back into Hollywood's Golden Age in the 20's, 30's, and 40's. Well, except for the large pin-trading pavilion/information stand in front of them. Rory walked over and got a map.

River looked over at him and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "No guide book today?"

Rory shook his head. "No, I got too distracted by it yesterday. Spent too much time reading and not enough experiencing everything here."

They began to walk down the street. River and Amy dragged the Doctor and Rory into a couple of shops, but they didn't buy anything.

While River and Amy looked at some stores on Sunset Boulevard, the Doctor and Rory continued to look at the map.

"There aren't many rides in this park, are there?" the Doctor commented sadly.

"Doesn't look like it, but there are two rides at the end of this street: the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rockin' Rollercoaster starring Aerosmith. ...I think I remember having seen the TV show of the Twilight Zone a few times when I was younger."

"Oh, yes, that show by Rod Serling... very smart man, very imaginative, if very moody and a bit depressed... but he was a brilliant man to have a conversation with! However, it's possible that I shouldn't have shown him that one black hole... he seemed even more out of things after that..." the Doctor rambled.

As soon as Amy and River stepped out of the shop, the Doctor grabbed their hands and began running down the street towards the two rides. Rory took off behind them.

"Where are we going?" Amy asked between pants of breath.

The Doctor was grinning like a child again. "To have some fun!"

Sunset Boulevard came to a dead end, and to the right was the Tower of Terror, to the left the rollercoaster. The Doctor stopped suddenly, causing River and Amy to stumble a bit. Rory didn't stop in time and ran right smack into the other three, sending them all toppling on to the ground.

"Doctor, there's no reason to run, Sweetie. There's no aliens here, nothing trying to kill us, so _please_ don't do that again." River huffed as she got up.

The Doctor was still grinning. "Sorry," he said, sounding not in the least bit sorry.

As the other three got to their feet, they all looked back and forth between the two rides.

"Tower first, then the rollercoaster?" Amy suggested.

"Sounds good!"

They walked over to the gate to the queue. The sign said "wait time: 10 minutes from this point", but there wasn't a person to be seen. It obviously wouldn't take that long.

A castmember in a maroon bellhop uniform smiled at them creepily and said, "Welcome to the Hollywood Tower Hotel. _Please enjoy your stay!"_ and beckoned them into the queue.

They wound through some gardens, around a broken fountain, around the porch, and finally into the "lobby" of the "hotel". It was done in the deco style of the 30's, and Glen Miller Band music played through the room. Another castmember in bellhop uniform waved them over to a door, saying, "Please wait over there to enter the library. Stand behind the yellow line; the doors will open shortly."

The doors opened before they had even reached the yellow line.

River suddenly smirked and said to the Doctor, "Feeling scared already, Sweetie?"

The Doctor was confused for a moment, but quickly realized that he had grabbed River's hand, apparently as soon as the bellhop had mentioned "the library".

He smiled a bit weakly and replied, "Just a bit jumpy is all..."

Once they were inside, about ten other people filed into the room and the doors shut. Then the lights went out, and a television came on in the corner and began to play a fake episode of the Twilight Zone to explain the story of the hotel.

"_You unlock this door with the key of imagination; beyond it is another dimension, a dimension of sound, a dimension sight, a dimension of mind. You are moving into a place of both shadow and substance of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into The Twilight Zone._

Hollywood, 1939, Amidst the glitz and the glitter of a bustling young movie talent at the height of its golden age, The Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star on its own right, a beacon for the show business elite.

Now, something is about to happen that will change all that. [the video shows lightning striking the towers that house the elevators, and the elevators dropping]

The time is now, on an evening very much like the one we have just witnessed. Tonight's story of The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize is a maintenance service elevator, still in operation, waiting for you. We invite you, if you dare to step aboard because in tonight's episode you are the star. And this elevator travels directly into... The Twilight Zone."

Throughout the entire video, the Doctor had nervously been looking around the room, especially when he saw a shadow. _Really, old man, _he thought to himself, _are you really so paranoid as to become this nervous any time you're in a library with River? ...But the room is dark right now... there could be Vashda Nerada in here, and no one would ever know! ...Silly fool, of course nothing is going to happen..._

And so he argued with himself in his mind until the lights came back on when the video was over. He was still gripping River's hand tightly.

The set of doors on the wall opposite from where they'd entered opened, and everyone filed through them out of the room. The next room looked like a cellar or boiler room. They proceeded to a divide in the walkway, continued straight, and stopped at another yellow line. A third castmember in a bellhop uniform directed them to the elevator on the left, row one. Once people were lined up for all of the other rows, the elevator doors opened, and the climbed inside. The bellhop checked to make sure that everyone buckled their seatbelts, gave one last warning about holding on to loose items, and went to a button on the wall to close the doors. As they closed, the castmember smiled darkly and said, "Enjoy your stay..."

"Do they all have to act that creepy?" Rory asked as the elevator rose.

The narration started again.

_"You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator about to take the strangest journey of your lives. Your destination, unknown, but this much is clear; a reservation has been made in your name for an extended stay..."_

The elevator stopped in front of a long hallway, in which apparitions of the people killed in the elevator crash appeared. They then faded away, along with the hall, into stars and space, with a floating window at the end which shattered. Then the elevator continued upwards.

The doors to the shaft opened, revealing an empty, storage-like floor. The elevator then began to move forwards out of the first shaft and onto the floor. As it traveled, strange things associated with the Twilight Zone TV show opening and more apparitions of the ghosts appeared in two rooms on either side of them. Then, the room faded to blackness, which divided, as though cut with a light into doors. The elevator entered another shaft, and the voice started again.

_ "One stormy night long ago, five people stepped through the door of an elevator and into a nightmare. That door is opening once again, but this time its opening for you."_

Suddenly, another set of doors opened in front of them, revealing the entire park below them.

"I feel like this wasn't the best idea for a first ride now!" Amy said a bit nervously.

The Doctor was about to say "Just put your hands up and say 'WHEEEEEE!'", but he didn't get a chance because the elevator dropped. And dropped... and dropped the full thirteen stories. Then, it rose again to the top and dropped part way, stopped, then dropped the rest of the way. Then it rose part way, but dropped the whole way at once again. It did this for at least eight drops, but it just kept going.

The other people on the ride were starting to get nervous. The ride drops differently every time you ride it, but the absolute maximum on drops for one ride was ten. They were easily up to about fifteen now.

Suddenly, the ride dropped the entire thirteen stories one last time, faster than any of the other drops, and actually went past the ground floor a bit. An emergency braking system (one of three) stopped the car long before it was close enough to crash, but that didn't change the fact that the ride had most definitely just malfunctioned. The elevator then pulled up back to the ground floor, and began to pull backwards onto it. The voice came on one last time.

_"A warm welcome back to those of you who made it, and a friendly word of warning, something you won't find in any guidebook; the next time you check in on a deserted hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you're filling, or you may find yourself a permanent resident of... The Twilight Zone. "_

The doors then opened and one last bellhop stood there, saying, "We hope you enjoyed your stay here at the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Please make sure you have gathered all of your belongings, and watch your children."

They stepped out of the elevator and walked over to a section of the wall where photos taken during the ride were displayed. Amy and Rory looked terrified, the Doctor had his hands up in the air and a huge smile on his face, and River actually looked a bit bored. They all stared at the picture for a moment.

"We are definitely buying that," the Doctor said as he bounded towards the gift shop to make his purchase.

The Ponds followed him, and discussed the ride as they made their way to the exit.

"The ride definitely seemed to drop faster as it went on. It's no wonder that the emergency brakes were needed for that last one," River said.

"I'm just glad we didn't end up in a dollhouse in a child's closet, filled with creepy dolls this time..." Rory said.

River raised an eyebrow.

"You weren't there for that one..." Amy responded to the unasked question.

River nodded and continued. "Well, you know, there was a ventriloquist dummy in that last room where we unloaded from..." She stopped when the Doctor came back over to them. He was carrying a bag, but it was definitely too large and too full to just be holding a photo.

Amy rolled her eyes. "What did you buy now?"

The Doctor grinned and pulled out a fluffy white bathrobe and a pair of white slippers, both of which had small embroidered emblems on them of the hTh (Hollywood Tower Hotel) logo on them.

"Aren't these cool?"

River shook her head. "I cannot BELIEVE that you just bought those... except I most certainly can believe it.

"But, purchases aside, what just happened on that ride?"  
The Doctor frowned a bit. "It malfunctioned. Obviously. And while that probably isn't a coincidence in light of yesterday's events, we're going to pretend for now that it was. Unless anything else goes wrong on any other rides, I think that we'll be fine. Today will definitely be alien free!"

"Never say stuff like that Doctor. It's always a way to jinx us..." Amy said while shaking her head.


	13. Peanut Butter and Jelly Milkshakes

**Shorter, fluffier chapter here. Just a quick note for those of you who haven't been to Disney World, or haven't been to the Prime Time Cafe restaurant in the Hollywood Studios park: The servers treat you like you're their children, and it's the 1950's. The whole restaurant is done like TV sets of kitchens from the 1950's sitcoms, and there are TVs everywhere that show clips of those shows, as well as a video of Walt Disney dedicating Disneyland from 1955.**

* * *

After the Tower of Terror, they got fastpasses for the Rockin' Rollercoaster because the wait was eighty minutes.

They continued on through the park, walking to the main plaza. The Doctor had to get a picture of all four of them standing underneath the giant Mickey Mouse Sorcerer's Hat, and afterwards they stopped at a bench and looked at the map again.

"Are we going to have lunch anywhere?" Rory asked as he traced a rout around the park to certain attractions with his finger.

"Well, there appear to be plenty of restaurants..." River mused as she read through the lists of things to do in each section of the park.

Amy read through the lists of restaurants. "There's too many to pick from! How about we go to one for lunch, and one for dinner? We'll pick at random; there's too many to choose from."

So they picked two restaurants and continued on to the next set of attractions. First they went to the Magic of Disney Animation. It consisted of a short film about how animated movies are made, leading to the Animation Station, where guests could record their own voices into scenes from Disney movies, meet characters, take personality quizzes, and use digital painting tools. The Doctor was incredibly amused at the recording stations.

"THIS IS SO COOL! WE HAVE TO TRY ALL OF THE SCENES!"

There were also drawing lessons. A professional Disney animator would teach a class of about twenty people how to draw a certain character. The Ponds and the Doctor ended up going three times, and they drew Mickey, Jiminy Cricket, and Grumpy. They might have gone to more classes if the Doctor hadn't jokingly drawn River when the teacher said they'd be drawing Grumpy.

Needless to say, River was not amused and refused to talk to the Doctor for an hour.

After Magic of Animation, they went to the _Voyage of the Little Mermaid_ show. Amy loved it, and upon exiting the theatre declared, "If I ever decide to work here, I am definitely going to be Ariel in that show."

Next they went back to the Rockin' Rollercoaster to use their fastpasses. The Doctor had to buy the picture from the ride again because, as he put it: "The faces are even funnier in this one than they were in the one from the Tower!"

By then, it was time for lunch. They walked into the Prime Time Cafe, and were taken aback at all being called "kids". They were even more shocked at the fact that the waitress _scolded_ the Doctor for putting his elbows on the table! After that, lunch was uneventful (aside from Rory getting a sticker for "cleaning his plate") until the Doctor noticed something on the dessert menu.

"...What is a peanut butter and jelly milkshake?"

River nearly spit out her drink. "A _what?"_

"There is a peanut butter and jelly milkshake on the menu! It sounds strange... but it might be kind of good... I think I'll try it!"

Amy face-palmed, and River shook her head. Rory was looking at his sticker, and hadn't noticed the conversation. He was confused when the Doctor's milkshake came out.

"What is _that?_" he asked warily.

The Doctor beamed. "A peanut butter and jelly milkshake! And..." he grabbed the straw and tried some. "It's delicious! Anyone else want to try some?"

The Ponds all shook their head no.

After lunch, they went to ride Star Tours, and ironically, River ended up being in the seat that they use to pick someone to be a "rebel spy". She got a sticker after the ride for it, as well as her picture in the ride for a moment. In the gift shop at the exit of the ride, Amy bought a Chewbacca backpack to everyone's surprise.

"Mother, I can't believe you just bought that!" River said through her laughter. "I mean, I would have expected the Doctor to buy one, but not you!"

"Well, it was just... I don't know... kinda cute. And honestly, I forgot my bag today, and I needed something to carry our stuff in."

The Doctor heartily approved of the backpack. "IT'S SO COOL!" ...River managed to keep him from buying one too.

"So, where to next?" Amy asked once they were out of the gift shop.

River looked at the map and smiled. "How about the Great Movie Ride?"

* * *

**...Yes, the peanut butter and jelly milkshake exists. Yes, actually, it is REALLY good (you don't taste the jelly mostly, just hte peanut butter), and yes, it is one of my favorite foods in Disney (or favorite foods period) so I had to put it in.**

**Also, Amy buying the Chewbacca backpack was inspired by my good friend SparklyPinkKitty, who is Amy and also bought one of those backpacks.**

**More action and plot movement in the next chapter! Until then, TTFN!**


	14. Into the Movies

**Sorry for the wait. I'm on vacation in Canada right now, and updates will depend on wifi availability...**

* * *

They all stood outside the replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre that housed the Great Movie Ride. They took a few moments to look at the assortment of cement handprints, footprints, pawprints, and names of various Disney-related celebrities.

Amy called over to the Doctor as she looked at the pawprints of Pluto in one square, "Does the real theatre look anything like this? I mean, besides the very obviously Disney slant to all of the celebrity cement blocks here... Actually, I don't see at all what some of these people have to do with Disney..."

The Doctor stood up from comparing his hand size to that of Kermit the Frog. "Actually, it does, although if you really want to know, this is much nicer. It's actually a bit of a letdown when you see the real thing... And as for the "non-Disney" people, well, the Walt Disney company owns Touchstone pictures, so there are people who have been in those films here, and there are people who were in the non-Disney movies in the ride here."

They all spent a few more minutes looking around at the ground. Finally, they filed inside through a nearly empty queue, past cases with various movie props and costumes (including Mary Poppins' carousel horse from the "Jolly Holiday" scene and a costume for Queen Elizabeth I from "Shakespeare in Love"). After going through the museum-like section of the queue, they entered a room with a huge movie screen. It showed original trailers for all of the movies featured in the ride, but because there was no line, the Ponds and the Doctor walked right past it and went straight into the next room, where they loaded the cars.

Just as they were about to load into the car, River looked into her bag and exclaimed, "The diary fell out! I think it's in that room with the movie screen...I'll be right back!"

The Doctor moved to come with her, but River turned around and put her hand out to stop him. "It's alright, Sweetie, I can get it myself. Save me a seat in the row." And with that she ran back to the other room.

The Doctor and the two Ponds climbed into the ride vehicle, a set of two, long joined cars that were wide enough across to fit at least six across comfortably. The first row however, only had room for about four because there was a sectioned-off seat for your "guide to the movies". Of course the Doctor wanted to sit in the front row, so they filed into the first row with the Doctor first, then Amy and Rory.

Unfortunately, despite being in the front row, they were the last ones to board, and the guide hopped into his seat and began his narration.

_"__Welcome aboard. At this time, I'd like to ask everybody to please remain seated throughout the ride, and keep your hands and arms within the vehicle at all times. Also, for the safety of our cast, and the comfort of those around you, please no flash photography or use of external video lights. Alright, now that we've taken care of business, let's talk about me. My name is Chris, and I'll be your guide during this magical journey into the movies. It's the perfect job for me because I love the movies. So, is everyone ready?"_

Everyone else in the cars yelled "YEAH!", but the Doctor and the Ponds shook their heads and said, "No..."

The narrator looked over at them, giving them a confused look.

The Doctor explained, "We're still waiting for someone... she dropped something in the queue..." The Doctor looked over at the doors they had come through and noticed that they were closed and locked. "Oh..."

The castmember looked over and said softly, "The doors are locked and the ride has started... I can't do anything to stop it now. I'm sorry..." Then louder he continued with his script. "_Great, because it's show time. Ready when you are, C.B.!"_

"_Action!" _And the ride lurched forward into the movies.

The Doctor turned around and watched behind them towards the doors.

Amy put a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine, Doctor. River's a big girl, and we all know she can take care of herself."

"That's actually what I'm worried about..." the Doctor said as their car turned around the bend, obscuring the doors from view.

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**Next chapter will hopefully be up soon, and don't worry, it will be a long one! :)**

**Reviews are encouraged and appreciated.**


	15. Hijacked and Attacked

The car turned the bend and was in a scene from one of the old movie musicals. The guide continued his narration.

_"__ Hello everyone and welcome to the Great Movie Ride. Once again, my name is Chris, and I'll be taking you from this Hollywood soundstage right into the middle of the action of the greatest films ever made, all on one tour. But between you and me, this is no ordinary tour because the Great Movie Ride brings these movies to life, and puts you right in the middle of the action._

_ "First let's visit some of those great Hollywood musicals starting with the 1933 Busby Burkley musical Extravaganza, Foot Light Parade. Starring James Cagney, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powel."_

The car turned around another bend and went under an arch to the famous scene of Don Lockwood swinging on the lamp post from _Singin' in the Rain_.

_"__Then in 1952, Gene Kelly was singin' in the rain. Did you know Gene Kelly Co-Directed this film?"_

The car quickly pulled through the small scene, under another arch, and into the next scene which was of rooftops with silouettes of dancing chimney sweeps. Ahead of and above the car, two animatronics (one of Mary Poppins and one of Bert) sing "Chim Chim Cheree". Amy smiled upon entering the scene and remarked, "I always loved this movie..."

The Doctor looked at the animatronics for a moment and remarked, "You know, these actually look a great deal like them... haven't seen either of them in a great while. I should probably go visit them soon..."

Amy and Rory turned to the Doctor. "You mean, you were there during the filming of the movie?" Rory asked.

"No! I mean actually visit Mary and Bert... Oh... you didn't know I knew them? Well, that's a story for another time..." he responded as a set of doors opened and the car pulled into the next scene.

The guide remarked, "_Hold on to those wallets and purses folks. This doesn't look like a very good neighborhood_," as they pulled into a set of a dirty alleyway and street.

_"In fact, it looks a lot like the Underworld. The scene of such classic gangster films like the Public Enemy. Starring one of my favorite tough guys, James Cagney..." _The car pulled around another bend to reveal an animatronic of Cagney quoting lines from _Public Enemy_, and it continued forward towards a stoplight and a two animatronics of gangsters saying_: "Somebody coming! Somebody coming! Get down!" "Ah, ah, is it them?" "Nah, just a bunch o' rubberneckin' tourists..." _Just then, the formerly green stoplight turned red, and a voice could be heard from the shadows on the other side of the scene saying, _"Shut up you two, you want to blow our cover?"_

At the third voice, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory all looked at each other. It was a familiar voice, though the accent was unfamiliar.

The ride car stopped in front of the red light, and the guide said, _"__Sorry about the delay, folks, but I don't want to run a red light, even if it is just a movie."_

The familiar voice spoke again, this time to the guide. "_Pssst, hey you!"_

The guide turned towards a figure standing in the shadows to the left of the vehicle and responded, _"__Are you talking to me? Are you talkin' to me?"_

The figure stepped out of the shadows, and the Ponds' and the Doctor's eyes widened. The Doctor muttered under his breath, "How even...?!"

Of course it was River. She was wearing a matching black with white pinstripe jacket and pencil skirt with a red shirt underneath, and her hair was pulled back into a loose bun at her neck. She was also wearing a black fedora and holding a pistol which she gestured with as she spoke.

"_No, tough guy, I'm talkin' to da dame in da funny-lookin' outfit over there. Yeah, I'm talkin' to you! Come 'ere!" _She motioned to the guide who shook his head and responded:

"_Uh, I'm not supposed to leave my vehicle..."_

River cocked the pistol and aimed it at the guide. "_I said __**get over 'ere.**__"_

"_Alright, whatever you say!..._" the guide said quickly as he jumped out of the car and walked up to River. Just then, a cat rattled some of the trash cans that the other thugs were hiding behind, startling both River and the guide. River looked at the guide.

_"Da heat's on, see? And your fancy car's my ticket outta here. So beat it!"_

The guide shook his head. "_You're making a big mista-"_

River interrupted him. _"I said __**scram!**__"_

The guide began to back away from her. "_But I can't leave in the middle of a movie!"_

Just then a 1930's car pulled out on the opposite of the ride vehicle, and one of the animatronic thugs yelled, _"Here dey come, boss!"_

River looked over at the car then back at the guide. "_Go on, beat it, ya sap!"_

_ "Yeah... maybe on second thought... I could go get some popcorn!" _And with that, he ran out of the scene.

Just as he left, the gangsters in the car opened fire on the two thugs and River, who all proceeded to shoot back; Everyone in the ride vehicle stuck in the crossfire. Suddenly, one of the thugs in the back yelled out, "_They got Squid!"_

River turned and looked at them as she pulled out another pistol. "_I hear ya! Just keep rubbin' them out!" _She turned back to the car and continued to fire, yelling, "_Hey, you muggs, this ain't a fair fight!..."_

The one thug repeated again, "_Squid's hit real bad, boss!"_

River rolled her eyes and replied, "_You're next if ya don't shut up!" _Just then, the 1930's car pulled back, out of sight. River turned and ran down to the guide's spot in the ride vehicle saying, "_Everybody, sit tight!"_ She looked up and the red light, then looked back to everyone in the car and said, "_Runnin' a red light 's against the law, and I never break the law! Watch this..." _She pulled out another pistol and shot the light. "_No more red light!"_

The car began to pull towards the doors to the next scene.

The one thug yelled, "_Boss... BOSS! Get back here, ya rat!"_

River looked back with a smirk and said, "_Sorry boys, I'm makin' my getaway! Give my regards to the warden, suckers..." _The doors to the next scene pulled open, and the car pulled through it. The Doctor and the two other Ponds were all staring at River as she lounged against the one railing on the car. She caught them looking, and said to the Doctor, "_What're ya lookin' at?"_

The Doctor sputtered back softly, "River... what... how...?" but she cut him off as she addressed everyone in the car.

_"Everybody mind your p's and q's, and maybe nobody'll get hoit..."_

The car pulled into a western town set, and River leaned over to whisper to the Doctor as a recorded announcer said something about Westerns and John Wayne

"...I didn't drop the diary." was the first thing she said.

"We kind of figured that out... So _what are you doing?!"_

Before River got a chance to answer, the car slowed down between a bank and another building in the sets. An animatronic sheriff yelled across at a bank robber animatronic, "_There he is! It's the bank robber! Don't let him get away!_" and another shoot out started.

River jumped up and pressed a button on the ride consol while yelling to everyone in the cars, "_Dis is nuts, and nuts ta dis! I'm gettin' outta here..." _As she hit the button, the car started moving at normal speed again (which really wasn't much faster). Her back was to the scene opening behind her, as she said, "_Well, look at it this way: Things can't get any worse..." _Then she turned around. "_...Okay... it's worse."_ She looked down at the Doctor with what she hoped was a meaningful enough look for him to be on his guard.

The car had pulled into what looked like a decrepit spaceship, and the recorded announcer said, "_This is "Alien". You are with Sigourney Weaver aboard the spaceship Nostromo. Something has gone wrong. One by one, the crew has vanished, and somewhere in the ship, a terrifying creature waits to claim its next victim..." _

The Doctor jumped a bit when the announcer said "alien", and he looked back at River, who nodded slightly before yelling to the announcer, "_Hey, I ain't no victim..." _

As the car pulled farther into the scene, a red warning light and siren began to flash and blare. The announcer came back on and said, "_Warning! Remain in your vehicle. The area you are entering is extremely dangerous. Proceed with caution." _ The car continued to progress until it was next to a corridor where an animatronic of Sigourney Weaver stood with a large blaster gun, looking nervously around the corridors. Then, the vehicle slowed considerably to a crawl.

River reached for her gun, and the Doctor took his sonic out of his pocket. Amy and Rory were looking around for any sign of the Trancitluzion, and Amy leaned over and whispered, "Doctor, is this supposed to be the same alien as yesterday, or a different one?"

The Doctor shook his head as he scanned the corridor with the animatronic. "No, this is a different alien... An equally hostile one... actually even more so than yesterdays, actually. However... I don't know if this one is just going to be an animatronic or something much, much worse."

Just then, the voice of the spaceship's computer system said, "_Danger. The emergency destruct system is now activated. The ship will detonate in 10 minutes. The option to override the system will expire in T-Minus 5 minutes." _ Steam began to pour through a broken pipe in the ceiling, making it hard for anyone in the cars to see anything. Suddenly, something started to drip onto the car...

Amy looked at the drop of liquid on her hand and touched it. It was slightly sticky and slimy. She looked around. "Doctor..."

Rory was looking to the right of the car and spotted something. "Uh, Doctor, I'm pretty sure you should look at this..."

But just then, something shot out of the ceiling through the steam. It looked like tentacles, and apparently, felt like them too, because one of them grabbed the Doctor by the neck. Everyone in the car screamed. Suddenly, the head of the Alien came through the steam, hissing and about to bite the Doctor with its protruding second mouth. It didn't get a chance to though; River shot it three times through the head, causing it to spark and fall lifeless. It was still just an animatronic, albeit a possessed one. The Doctor gasped as the tentacle thing unwound from around his throat and then waved the sonic at the ceiling, causing a sliding hatch to close over the now motionless animatronic.

Everyone breathed easy for a moment, but the relief was short lived because another animatronic Alien was emerging from the wall on their right hand side. It was this animatronic that Rory had spotted while it was lifeless only seconds earlier.

It pulled its hands (they were hands, not tentacles as everyone could now see) from under some wires, causing them to spark profusely and pop, and it leaned towards the car about to strike again when it caught sight of River pointing two more guns at it.

The Doctor looked over at River for a split second and yelled, "Where do you keep getting those things?!"

The Alien was hissing, and after a moment, it began to speak in a voice that sounded like a continuous hiss/scream.

"_It's still coming for you, you know..."_

"What, the Trancitluzion? It's locked up in the highest security prison it could be in. If you're in this with him, why don't you try to kill us now?" the Doctor replied.

"_I am merely a projection... a messenger."_

"And that's why River was able to shoot out the first one with just a normal gun? Because you're just an animatronic... an animatronic with the projection of the actual Trancitluzion... And you can use this form because it is close to your own, and the people who come through here are afraid. You can feed of that fear to strengthen the connection. Clever."

The Alien just hissed in response and turned back to River, who was still pointing both guns at its head. _"And the strong one is being weakened too... perhaps she will be worth devouring after all..."_

The Doctor shook his head in confusion. "But what makes all of us worth eating and not her? ...I mean, besides the fact that she would probably kill you first."

"_She did not believe anything here. No emotion could get through to feed off of... but there is more there now. It is not fear yet... but it will be, along with other weaknesses."_

River couldn't stand the way the creature was talking about her. It sounded like it knew things she did not, and she did not welcome that. A lifetime of brainwashing by the Silence had made her possessive of her own thoughts, knowledge, and life after she had finally freed herself of them. But this creature presumed to stand there and _act like it knew more about her. _She couldn't take it, and she certainly could not take being called weak. She fired both guns at once through the animatronic, causing it to spark and die. She spun around and hit the emergency button on the console. The car lurched forward, and moved quickly into the next scene. After a moment she regained some of her composure and managed to go back to the scripted lines she was supposed to be following. "_All right, I think that's enough creepy crawly things for one day right?"_

The car pulled through a scene from _Raiders of the Lost Ark _and then through into another scene from the same movie. There was a large statue with a red jewel at the top of some stairs to the right of the ride car. River looked up at it, and looked over at the Doctor and the Ponds to mouth, "I'll be back. Wait for me at the exit of the ride" before going back to the script. "_Wow! Get a load o' dat chunk of ice! Time for me to get back to woik. Don't none of yas move while I get the goods. I don't think they'd notice a few extra bodies around here, if ya know what I mean..."_

She climbed up the stairs while the Ride Announcer voice talked about the jewel and the temple. She was about to reach for the jewel, when a figure to the left of the statue, clothed in veils, put up a hand and said, _"Halt, unbeliever! Disturb the treasure of the gods, and you shall all pay with your lives."_

River gave the Temple Guardian a disdainful look and reached out to the jewel. She was quickly obscured by smoke, and when it cleared, all that was left was a skeleton. The Doctor gasped and went to jump out of the vehicle and run up to the skeleton, but Amy grabbed his arm and said, "It's part of the ride. That's supposed to happen; River is all right, Doctor. That's not her."

He sat back down and put his head in his hands for a moment. He could hear everyone else in the car cheering because apparently the Temple Guardian was their original guide, but all he could think of was the skeleton and River.

It was like she'd been eaten by Vashda Nerada... and of course he thought of the library. Unfortunately, that thought was never far from his mind, but he had forgotten everything for a moment there and believed that Vashda Nerada had actually gotten River. _You need to keep it together, Old Man... you stupid, stupid, old man... _he thought to himself.

He quickly cleared his thoughts though, and looked up to see they were quickly passing through the rest of the movies.

The guide was saying, "I'm sorry, folks, I understand that you had quite a scare back in the "Alien" scene, so we're just gonna cruise through the rest of these movies and get you back to the set. We are terribly sorry about that... " He continued to talk, but the Doctor and the Ponds weren't listening. They were all lost in their own thoughts.

The Doctor looked at Amy and Rory and said, "We start to get to the bottom of this. Now. We find River when we get off of this ride, and then we find out for sure what that _thing_ wants with her and the rest of us, and then..." he trailed off and had a dark, almost scary look on his face.

Both of the Ponds nodded, and they sat as the ride moved towards where they had loaded and where they would exit.

* * *

**Credit and thanks to where I found the script to the Great Movie Ride. **


	16. A Plan

River was indeed waiting for the others outside the exit doors of the ride. Upon seeing her, the Doctor heaved a sigh of relief and threw his arms around her.

River chuckled. "Sweetie, I told you I'd be waiting at the end of the ride! Did you forget?"

The Doctor shook his head and muttered into her hair, "Yes."

After a moment he broke away from her and took her hand. The group walked over to some benches underneath the giant Mickey's Sorcerer Hat at the centre of the park.

Amy leaned over and asked River, "So, did you know the alien thing was going to try to attack us? I mean, is that why you left?"

River shook her head. "I knew that there was a part of the ride where the car is hijacked by a gangster. I thought at first that it would be fun and shocking to all of you if I stepped in and did that... well maybe not shocking, but surprising at least. Anyway, I overheard one of the other employees mention that there have been some issues in the "Alien" scene of the ride lately, so I figured that was too much of a coincidence. That was why I had real guns. They were supposed to be fake. Well, that and the fact that I always have one..."

"Obviously we have to do something now. The creature may be locked up, but if it can possess the other animatronics, we have to do something, _anything_ to stop it..." the Doctor said as he rubbed his hand from his forehead down his face. "We'll have to get back into the prison where they're keeping it..."

"Doctor, there is one thing I'd like to know: What does it want with me? I mean, why won't it kill me, and what did it mean that I'm becoming weak?" If there was one thing River feared, it was weakness.

The Doctor looked at River. "Almost everyone who comes to these parks is able to suspend their disbelief and see things through a childlike lens. That's what it feed off of: the beliefs that the guests have... especially all the children." Here he dropped his voice to a whisper to make sure they were not overheard. "The belief and faith of the children who think that all of the actors here actually are characters, that think the ghosts in the Haunted Mansion and the Tower of Terror are real, that the Aliens in the rides are real... The Trancitluzion feeds off of all of that belief, and in some cases, it's easiest to do that by devouring the source: the people themselves." He looks almost broken. The other three all know the Doctor's rule: Never get involved in the affairs of places... unless there are children crying. And this creature was targeting children, children and the child in everyone.

River looked confused for a moment and looked at the Doctor. He was staring at her with sad, glistening eyes. "You never got to be a child." he said softly to her. "...Not properly. That's why it can't consume you. Us however..." he gestured to himself, Amy, and Rory, "It can certainly feed off of us."

Amy looked from River to the Doctor. "So, what do we do? We stop the alien, yeah, but how?"

The Doctor placed his head in his hands as he tried to think. He was letting himself get emotional, and he knew that was clouding his thinking. After a few moments he looked up, staring straight ahead and said, "We try to talk to it. _I _will try to talk to it... If it doesn't listen, well..." he trailed off as he stood up.

"So... we're going to try to reason with a hostile alien who has tried to kill us twice in two days?" Rory clarified as the other three stood up.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes." And began to walk towards the exit to the park.

Rory shrugged. "Alright then."

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**Sorry for the really short chapter, but we're getting to the climax of the story soon. I wanted this to be short to set things up a bit.**

**Also, I'd just like to point out that this story has reached 100 reviews, over 20 favorites and over 40 alerts! Thank you so much to everyone! You have no idea how much I appreciate and love all the support you've given to me. I only hope I continue to meet and possibly (hopefully) exceed your expectations.**


	17. Face to Face

They had left the park immediately after deciding what to do. They took a bus back to the hotel to drop their things off and then set off for the containment facility. The Doctor knew where it was from having been there the day before.

Upon arriving, they were scanned, inspected, and finally admitted when they explained who they were (and the Doctor made use of the psychic paper). They four of them were led down what seemed like a maze of corridors until they stopped at a steel door. It had a small window, through which only darkness could be seen. The attendant flipped a switch on the wall and the room became illuminated enough that they could see most of its contents. The Trancitluzion was clawing at the back wall, but it looked like there were other creatures in the room with it.

"Is it in there alone?" the Doctor asked.

The attendant nodded. "Yes, it is. Although, judging by your faces, you are seeing something else in there too?"

The small group of four nodded in unison.

The attendant walked over to a metal cabinet on the opposite side of the hallway and opened it. From within, he produced four pairs of strange goggles, similar to the set he was wearing himself. "Here, put these on. From what we know, the creature is able to manipulate the brainwaves of those looking at it. You may be seeing other things in the room with it, but it is alone and the rest of the room is empty. You'll want these too, if you're planning on going inside..." he held out some suits. "They're as close as we have to full body armor that can protect you from it."

The Doctor, River, Amy, and Rory pulled the sets of goggles over their heads and then proceeded to put the suits on. They were heavy and uncomfortable, but they thanked the attendant anyway.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked.

The Doctor quickly scanned the door, the walls surrounding it, and then finally the suits themselves. He looked at the readings for a moment before looking up at the attendant and replying, "No, this is all we need. Thank you."

The man nodded and walked down the hall, calling out as he went, "I need to lock this door at the end of the hall here for security reasons. When you're done, I will unlock it from the other side, and you can come out." With that, he locked the door.

As soon as the man had left, the Doctor pulled off the goggles and suit.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Rory asked with a puzzled look.

"Yeah, didn't the man say these were to keep us safe?" Amy chimed in.

River had started to remove her own suit and goggles as soon as she'd seen the Doctor removing his.

The Doctor looked up and over at Amy and Rory. "These people here don't know what they're dealing with. These suits and goggles won't protect us at all, they'll just slow us down," he said quickly as he sonic-ed the lock of the door open.

He stepped inside and was closely followed by River. Amy and Rory were close behind.

The Trancitluzion didn't move from the wall it was scratching at as they entered.

"You can stop pretending now."

The creature turned to face the Doctor.

"I know that if you really wanted to, you could escape this place easily. These people are trying their best to control something they don't understand... but they really don't know how _little they know_. Those suits and goggles wouldn't have helped us just the same as even these steel walls can't hold you. ...So why are you still here?"

The Trancitluzion bristled and narrowed its eyes at the Doctor with a sneer. It hissed, "_I've been waiting..."_

"For us?"

_"For you."_ With that, the lights snapped off. The Doctor aimed his sonic to turn them back on while River fired her gun twice over in the direction of where the creature had just been. When the lights turned back on, it was nowhere to be seen.

"...Doctor...?" Amy said nervously while looking around.

"It's still here... Where did you go?"

A hissing seemed to come from all around them. "_Oh you foolish little creatures. You sad little people. You may as well give in to me because there is no way you will leave this room alive... or unbroken..." _he added as he looked at River. He had that same look he'd had while threatening her in the ride. She stood her ground, kept her face a mask of calm even while internally she was struck again with a sense of dread and disgust. Her gun was still leveled at the creature. He saw this and hissed out at her, "_That thing won't hurt me. It only stunned me before, and I have built up my resistances against it. So don't waste your fire."_

River held the gun steady anyway.

"Alright, enough with the threats. I'm going to offer you a chance: A chance to leave this planet and go to another one where you can exist and live... possibly with your own kind. Or... you can bring about your own destruction. Look at us. We are standing unarmed in a room with you. You want to kill us, but you know what? I don't think you can yet... For some reason, you're still waiting... for what though, I wonder?"

"_For her." _he said motioning over to River. _"She is not ready yet."_

"Well, you're going to be waiting for a bloody long time, because I'm not doing ANYTHING that would help you..." River snarled through clenched teeth.

"_No... not yet you wouldn't, but you will. You'll see. Since you'll all be here a while then, why don't you have a seat?" _

As the creature said that, restraint chairs flew out of the walls, binding the four others. Steel straps and clamps were on every part of their bodies so they could not move a muscle.

"_Now... this is where things get interesting!"_

* * *

**Cliffhanger! You all hate me right now don't you? ;)**

**The final battle against the alien is next...**

**Disclaimer: The containment facility in this chapter is completely of my own fabrication. As far as I know, there is no such place in Disney (and honestly, I hope there isn't.) It is here only for purposes in this story.**


	18. Weakness and Strength

**For some mild language, action, and violence, I'm going to rate this chapter T... just to be safe. You've been warned.**

* * *

Suddenly, the room went dark except for one spotlight shining down on the chair where River was bound. She could see the creature coming toward her, but it stopped just within the edge of the reach of the spotlight, still a few feet away from her. It just sat down and stared at her. That made her more nervous than if it had sprung to attack her.

As River tried to struggle against the restraints binding her, the creature spoke. "_You may as well stop. You can't move, and you'll just exhaust yourself."_

She stared right at the Trancitluzion. She tried to speak, be there was a leather strap gagging her and a metal one holding her chin in place. Upon seeing this, the creature walked over and ripped the leather and cut the metal with its claw-like hands. "_I suppose I can let you speak..."_

River was about to ask what the it thought it was doing and what it wanted, but she stopped when she heard a scream come from Amy. River turned her eyes to glare at the creature. "What the _hell are you doing to them?"_

The Trancitluzion sneered. _"They are being prepared. Each one of them is seeing their worst fears, starting from childhood and continuing up to now. Once their weaknesses have been increased to a suitable amount, I will be able to kill and consume them. Since you are still too strong... well, perhaps if you hear and see them suffer first it will weaken you enough for me to consume you too. Of course.. it couldn't hurt to show you some of your weakness too..."_

Suddenly a group of Silence appeared in front of River, reaching towards her with electricity sparking from their fingers. Suddenly, River's mind was flooded with memories from her childhood, from before she was Mels, when the Silence ruled her life. She cringed a bit, but kept up a brave face. Suddenly, the Silence parted and Madame Kovarian stood in the middle of them before River. "_Well, little Melody... you have been resisting your training. You know what you're supposed to do..."_

_ A tiny voice inside River's mind replied, "Kill the Doctor."_

_ Kovarian nodded. "Yes. But you were resisting earlier... you know what happens when you resist..."_

_ The group of Silence stepped forward again and began to scream. Electricity began to course through their hands. River closed her eyes and tried to shrink away from them. The memories she was being forced to watch were bringing the realization to her mind that yes, she had been a child once, but she had known only fear in that time. So really, it wasn't much of a childhood at all... but it was enough to break down the barriers in her mind and strengthen the Trancitluzion._

_ Suddenly the Silence disappeared, and in their place stood little Amelia and Rory. River felt small. She looked at her hand and saw it was chocolate brown colored. She was Mels again. She tried to speak to the younger versions of her parents, but the turned coldly away from her. She felt miserable and looked away from them for a moment. When she looked back, there was a Silence standing behind them, reaching out with its electric hand. When River tried to scream to warn them, they dissipated into air and the Doctor stood before her and the chair restraining her had become the Spacesuit. She struggled against the suit as the arm raised to fire. She looked up at the Doctor's face, but it was cold and unforgiving. The suit fired, and as the Doctor fell, River screamed, wanting to sob, but able to do nothing but scream._

But that scream was enough to get through the mirages surrounding the Doctor, Amy, and Rory.

Amy and Rory yelled through the blackness to the Trancitluzion, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO OUR DAUGHTER?!" as she and Rory began to struggle against her restraints.

The Doctor was angry. The Trancitluzion had dared to hurt River and Amy and Rory. You DO NOT hurt the Doctor's friends. River's scream had pulled him out of a mirage of her dying in the Library, and now that he was aware again of where they actually were and the fact that River was alive left him relieved and more on edge than before at the same time. Having managed to move his sonic in his jacket so that the button could be pushed when he leaned against the leather and metal straps holding him, he managed to unclasp the one around his mouth.

"_**RIVER!**_" was the first thing he yelled.

This pulled River out of her torment. She was now sobbing; all of the barriers around her emotions, against her memories, guarding her mind had been demolished. She was afraid, and angry, and so, _so _upset... more upset than she could ever remember being. Through her sobs though, she managed to call back, "Doctor..."

The Doctor's mind was racing, trying to figure out how to free themselves. He leaned against the sonic a few more times so his head and arms were free. He undid the rest of the straps by hand to make as little noise and as little light as possible. When he was free, he rushed over into the darkness on his one side and found Amy. He freed her and whispered to her to go release Rory then sit back in the chair so the creature wouldn't know they were free.

He quickly moved back to his chair and sat down. He called out to the Trancitluzion, "Let. River. Go."

The creature spun from where it stood next to River to glare in the Doctor's direction, which was still in darkness. It hissed and spat, "_Not a chance. It turns out she wasn't so strong after all, and she is really, the weakest of all of you. Of course, it's not like there is anything that you can do now to help her..."_

"Now when you say "weak"... what do you mean? You can't mean physical strength because while River is strong, she isn't the strongest of the four of us... that's Rory. You mean _emotionally?_ Yes. You mean emotionally... but you don't mean "emotionally weak"... you mean _emotions are a weakness._ You know, I was told once a while ago that I am the greatest example that emotions destroy you, and that is true. They definitely can. But _you know what else?_ They are also what make her and everyone I've ever traveled with... even myself to an extent, _human. _And they make them _magnificent, _and _brilliant, _and _brave, _and _**STRONG.**_ Stronger than me, stronger than you, stronger than any other force. No, emotions are not a weakness. And you've underestimated one other thing here today..."

"_And what is that?"_

"...Her parents."

With that Rory and Amy rushed forward. Amy ran and slammed into the creature with her shoulder as hard as she could, knocking it to the ground. Rory grabbed a pipe from the wall, wrentching out from its place and leaving a hole which steam poured out of. The edge of the pipe was jagged and sharp where it had been broken off, sharp enough to be used as a weapon. The Trancitluzion was getting up when Rory ran straight at it, using the pipe as he would have used his Centurion sword, leaving a tear the entire way through the creature's wing.

While Rory and Amy fought the creature, the Doctor rushed over to release River. He sonic-ed all of the straps open and handed River he gun, which had fallen on the floor. He looked in River's eyes quickly. She was shocked, and her eyes were still tearing, but her urge to protect and help her parents was overriding anything else she may have been feeling at the moment. She was about to run over and help when the Doctor stopped her by grabbing her gun again. He sonic-ed it and handed it back to her, saying, "That should boost it enough for a shot to actually do some damage to it. I'm not sure how much... but it will do more than it did last time."

River rushed over to where her parents were still fighting the Trancitluzion, and the Doctor ran after her. Amy had managed to taunt the creature into following her so Rory could strike clearly, and there were many gashes running over its body. However, upon closer inspection, many of them were half healed already, and each new stab and swipe with the pipe was doing less and less damage. Soon, it would be entirely ineffective as a weapon. River and the Doctor looked around quickly, trying to think of something to use or do against the creature when River spotted a huge bundle of wires next to a pipe in the ceiling. The pipe was labeled: DANGER, and the wires looked dangerous enough in their own right. She had an idea.

River ran over so she was next to Amy, standing directly in front of the creature. She motioned for her mother to follow her, and River began to move them so they were close to the wires and the pipe. The Doctor noticed River looking up and saw the infastructure above them too. He instantly knew what River was trying to do. He ran to the opposite side of the creature, set the sonic on a setting that would nearly shatter the eardrums of the Trancitluzion, but not harm the rest of them at all. He waited until they were very close to the spot River was leading to to activate the sound wave. The creature shrieked out and fell to the ground right where River needed it to be. The Doctor grabbed Amy and Rory by their arms and pulled them away as he sonic-ed the door to the room open. River followed behind until the door was open. Then, she stopped, turned around and aimed at the ceiling.

She fired and ran.

The pipe burst open, spilling something bitter smelling onto the Trancitluzion and the floor. Acid. The wires fell at the same time in a shower of sparks, also landing just on top of the creature. The liquid and the electricity combined fatally, shocking and frying the creature, but then it caught fire, which quickly started to spread through the room.

As soon as River had fled out the door, the Doctor sonic-ed it shut, then bolted the outer steel door with the tiny window. Through that window, they could see the creature be entirely engulfed by flames. It burned until it was nothing but ash.

Presently, the Doctor became aware of some voices and banging. He ran down the hall to the door and saw a group of workers trying to open it. Apparently, it was stuck. The Doctor sonic-ed it, and it slid open. The man who had escorted them to the room was the first on through, and he ran down the hall to look through the window. The pipe through which the acid had been falling had been sealed off at another point, and having lost its fuel, the fire was already dying down in the air-tight, sealed room. The man looked over at Amy, who was bruised and battered looking, Rory, who had cuts all over his hands from the pipe, and River, who was staring emotionlessly into space. Then he looked back at the Doctor, who was standing right next to him still.

The Doctor smiled sadly. "You had no idea what you were dealing with."

* * *

**This isn't the end. Obviously, we need to wrap up some loose ends, but I also wanted to let everyone know that after the next chapter, the story will continue for a while with quite a few fluffy chapters. Originally, this story was supposed to be a 4-8 chapter fluff fic. As you can see, it's gone far awry from that! However, I do fully plan to write that fluff!**

**In the meantime, I hope this chapter was a suitable one. It was incredibly difficult to write, and I hope it was up to par.**

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for reading.**


	19. Through an Open Mind

They were escorted out of the facility after being quickly questioned about what had happened. It was decided that the event would be only lightly documented and that the Ponds and the Doctor were in no way to blame or liable for any of the damage. They arrived back at the hotel and all sat in the small garden just outside the Doctor and River's room.

"So, that's completely it now, yeah?" Amy asked as she looked up at the darkening sky. "That's the end of the Trancitluzion, so all the rides and parks and everything should go back to normal now."

The Doctor nodded. "Yes. Well, I mean relatively normal. Strange things are always happening everywhere, and I don't think that the Trancitluzion was responsible for _all_ of the things that happened here..."

"What, you mean that something else could be messing with rides and trying to hurt people?" Rory asked.

"Well, I mean that rides will always malfunction, and there are probably lots of other things in the parks that no one knows about... but I'm virtually certain none as hostile as the Trancitluzion was. So, yes, there are other things, but no, they won't be trying to kill us or hurt us."

"Alright."

The four sat in silence for another few minutes, staring into space. Then Amy looked over at River, who still had a completely blank look on her face. Amy realized she hadn't said anything since shooting down the pipe and power cords.

Amy leaned over and gently grasped River's arm. "River, are you all right?"

There was no response. The Doctor and Rory were now also looking at River, both with great concern.

Amy looked over at the Doctor with a confused and slightly frightened look. Rory walked over to River, put his hand on her shoulder and leaned down so his face was level with hers and he was looking right in her eyes. "River... can you hear us?"

Not even her eyes showed any sign of recognition or change.

Rory looked over at the Doctor. "What happened to her?" he asked levelly, while his eyes showed a bit of anger at the fact that his daughter was obviously hurt.

The Doctor gently turned River's face so she was looking towards him and peered into her eyes. He studied her for a moment. "I think she's closed herself off..." he looked up at Amy and Rory and addressed them. "Did the Trancitluzion show you things in the dark? It was messing with all of our heads..."

"It was showing me my fears... like when we were at that prison-ship/hotel with the minotaur." Amy whispered.

The Doctor looked at Rory who also nodded in agreement. "I told you that creature was related to the minotaur... I didn't actually realize that it could project the fears though..." The Doctor shook his head as if to rid himself of the fears he had been shown. He put his head in his hands for a moment, trying to figure out something to do.

"It must have really hurt her... River is so strong, and for her to have just... what could it have shown her?" Amy mused softly as she put her arms around her daughter.

Rory turned to the Doctor. "Help her. Do whatever you have to do, but help her. She's been hurt enough times, many of them by you..."

The Doctor winced, but Rory continued.

"...But I know you always help her when she needs it, catch her when she jumps or falls... you're still always there. So help her."

The Doctor stood and gently pried Amy off of River, who he guided to stand up. The Doctor looked over at Amy and Rory, who were standing together. "I'm taking her to the TARDIS. She'll be able to help me help her."

Rory and Amy nodded, and the Doctor began to guide River to the TARDIS.

When they reached the Old Girl and were inside the consol room, the Doctor sat River down in the chair and knelt before her. He thought of what Rory had said. It had stung, but it was true. Rory had a way of always seeing the painful truth about traveling with the Doctor, but sometimes, the Doctor really needed that dose of reality. This was one of those times.

He read the scanner screen, which confirmed that River had locked herself into her mind after what the Trancitluzion had shown her. The Doctor knew he would have to enter her mind to bring her out of it. He constructed the walls in his own mind to hide spoilers from her, and placed his hands gently on either side of her face. He could feel the TARDIS humming comfortingly around him; she wanted River to be well again, and she would help in any way she could.

Walking among River's thoughts, the Doctor saw what the Trancitluzion had shown her, and he finally fully understood River's childhood and the fear that was left over from it. He finally found her, curled tightly inside herself for protection. He placed his arms around her and gently began to draw her back to herself, and the TARDIS seemed to surround both of them for safety.

The Doctor opened his eyes and saw River looking back at him. He was about to remove his hands from her face, but she placed both of hers on top of his, holding them in place. She smiled at him, warm, forgiving, thankful, and loving. She was crying.

The Doctor leaned up and pulled her into an embrace. She slid gently off the chair so she was sitting on the floor next to him, completely surrounded by him.

The Doctor whispered into her hair, "I knew you were a child. We found you when we were in America... but... I just never realized how hard that must have all been for you..."

River softly said through her tears, "I _had_ a childhood..." she looked up at the Doctor and smiled with just the smallest hint of its usual mischievousness. "...It just sucked."

They both laughed a little.

After a moment, River spoke again. "I know why you brought us here. "

The Doctor looked down at her as she looked up at him. "You brought us here for me. You wanted me to have the chance to be a child, a _proper_ child, if that's even a thing..."

The Doctor blushed and sputtered, "How... why...?"

River chuckled. "I heard you say something about it to my parents." She turned in his arms so she was facing him. "It's hard for me, you know. It's very hard for me to let everything go and just try to enjoy myself. So much of who I am is just pure reflex. Protective action: the flirting, the smugness, the hard, calm exterior... all of those I've either been trained to do or I've carefully built them up to protect myself. Innocence, wonder... fear... those things were dangerous to me, so I destroyed them in myself, and if I couldn't destroy them, I walled them up in a fortress in my mind. All to survive."

The Doctor was studying River's face. He'd never seen it like this before... so open. Really, quite... well, childlike. He smiled at her. "River, I don't think I've ever seen you so beautiful. Right now, with those barriers down... I don't think I've ever seen you stronger." He pulled her close, and she burrowed as close to him as she could in his arms. "Do you want to leave?" he whispered. "Was I wrong to think this could work?"

River was still for a moment, then she shook her head and replied softly, "No. I want to stay. I want to actually see this place and enjoy it as much as I can." She looked up at him. "Is that okay with you? And of course it will have to be okay with Amy and Rory too..."

The Doctor leaned down and kissed River softly. "We'll stay as long as you want."

River smiled and put her arms around his neck before standing up and taking his hand.

"Let's go back to the room."

* * *

**What they do at the room is up to all of your imaginations. ;) Anyway, the real fluff starts next chapter.**

**Review please? :)**


	20. Animal Kingdom: Dinoland and Everest

The next morning, the Doctor did not wake everyone up at an obscenely early hour to go to a park. He did not bother them to wear the blue Mickey Ear hats, and he let the Ponds decide which park they should go to. Rory wanted to go to Animal Kingdom, so that's where they went.

The Ponds took the bus, and the Doctor followed them with the TARDIS. He said he was moving it, but he wouldn't tell where. River had the feeling that he was switching where they were staying again, even though they'd only spent two nights at the Boardwalk hotel.

Upon arriving at the park, they were greeted by a talking palm tree, and Amy spent a good ten minutes talking to it.

"Oh my god, it's a talking palm tree! What even!..."

River and Rory laughed. "I think we must be spending too much time around the Doctor for Amy to be acting like this..." Rory said to River.

By the time Amy was done talking to the palm tree, the Doctor had arrived. (And thank goodness the tree had walked away, otherwise the Doctor would have been talking to it for a few hours most likely...).

After going through bag inspection and the turnstiles, the four of them consulted a map before deciding on going to "Dinoland USA" first. They walked through the Discovery Island area past various birds and small animals, across the bridge towards the Tree of Life.

Rory was actually the first of them to realize that the Tree was covered in carvings of animals, and they tried to get closer for a better look. However, the only path they found that drew closer actually led to a show under the tree: "It's Tough to be a Bug".

They all looked at each other and shrugged. "I suppose it's worth trying..." River said.

They began to wind down the long path, stopping many places along the way to look at how the roots and trunk of the tree twisted into the shapes of animals of all shapes and kinds: insects, mammals, dinosaurs, dragons, fish, and many others.

"This is amazing..." the Doctor mused as they continued farther down the path. They were almost under the tree at this point. "Look at the detail here! I mean, obviously, it isn't a real tree, but still..."

Once they were under the tree, it was like they were in some sort of cavern or... "Ant hill."

The Ponds looked at the Doctor and all said in unison, "What?"

"We are inside a giant model of an ant hill! That's so cool!"

All Amy and River had to say was "Eww."

The holding room began to empty out, and they followed through to the next room. It was a large theatre, still styled to look like the inside of an ant hill. The four took their seats after picking up some 3D glasses that were in bins by the door. The Doctor put his on and proclaimed them "cool". River rolled her eyes as she put her pair on.

The movie started, but it also had some animatronics (Flik and Hopper from "A Bug's Life") and 4D effects... effects such as the awful odor of a stinkbug, "acid" being sprayed on the audience, and the feeling of having acorns shot at oneself. At that point, River pulled her gun out, but the Doctor placed his hand over hers to stop her. "RIVER! It's just a show!" She relaxed, but she didn't put the gun away.

Finally, at the very end of the show, Flik asked the audience to "_please let all cockroaches, centipedes, maggots exit the theatre first..." _and suddenly, it felt like there were THINGS crawling under and behind everyone in the audience on the seats. River screamed, jumped up, and shot the seat.

The Doctor smacked his face with his palm. "RIVER! It was just another effect!"

River stared at the moving mechanisms inside the hole now in the seat, then she looked around to see everyone else in the room staring at her.

She actually _blushed! _River Song _blushed!_ Amy, Rory, and the Doctor couldn't believe it. They stood, and the Doctor put his arms around her. "Come on River..."

She clenched her fists at her sides and said through clenched teeth, "We are not going on any other rides or shows unless we READ what the map says it is first..."

* * *

They did eventually reach Dinoland, and (after consulting the map) River insisted that they ride DINOSAUR first.

They walked into the building and through the winding queue. There wasn't much of a line. They watched an intro video that explained the "time travel" they were about to partake in to go back to the era of the dinosaurs. After that, they walked out of the room and down a staircase to the loading area. The Doctor noticed a bunch of warning signs. "_Warning: This ride contains turbulent conditions, dark places, and scary dinosaurs that may make this ride too intense for small children. Do not ride if you have the following health conditions..."_

The Doctor laughed. "Look at all these warning signs! It can't be _that_ scary..."

The Ponds shrugged.

...Well, apparently it was _that _scary.

"RIVER, MAKE THEM STOP CHARGING AT THE CAR!" the Doctor cried as a Carnotaurus ran towards the side of the time rover vehicle that the Doctor was sitting on. He was leaning away from the side of the car as far as he could and clutching his sonic with one hand and River's arm with the other for dear life. Amy and Rory were also screaming, and River did have to admit (to herself, of course) that it _was_ actually a fairly frightening ride.

She loved it.

* * *

Next they went to the Asia section of the park. Amy wanted to ride _Expedition Everest_; she loved rollercoasters. They wound through yet another queue to the loading area, but just before that, they had to pass through a "museum" about the study of the Yeti. Rory actually asked if any of the evidence from the "Lost Expedition" was real, but River, being ever the archaeologist, was able to tell within seconds that the damaged equipment was all fake. The Doctor did have to mention though that "the Yeti really wasn't very hospitable" last time they saw each other.

They continued on, and one castmember pointed them to their rows in the car. Luckily enough for them, they were put in the firstand second rows. Amy decided that she and River would ride together in the front and the Doctor and Rory could sit together in the next row.

The "train" came, and everyone loaded into the cars. After a quick security check, the ride started, and it wove through some Nepalese gardens before beginning its ascent of the first hill. There was a small "temple" part way up the hill, and after exiting that, they were on a stretch of free-standing tracks about fifty feet off the ground. Rory looked down and then remarked to the Doctor, "I would _not_ want to be stuck up here if the ride broke down..."

The Doctor shook his head and muttered, "I _really _hope it doesn't break down now just because you said that..."

The car was now at the top of the mountain and going through a short tunnel towards the true summit. However, the track was pulled up in front of the car, and they were forced to stop. The train just sat there for a minute.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Amy asked River. "I mean, it's a nice view from up here, but still..."

She didn't get to finish her sentence because the ride began to fall backwards down the hill, but instead of going through the short tunnel they'd come through, they went through a long dark cave, finally stopping again in a large open cavern. A silhouette of the Yeti appeared on one of the walls, tearing the track out again from behind the train before it began moving forwards again, this time down a large hill outside. The track wove through another cave before going through another small section of garden and back into one last cave.

As the train pulled over a hill in the darkness, the Yeti suddenly appeared before them, reaching down as if to grab the passengers right out of the train. Everyone screamed as the cars hurtled past and back to the loading area.

River and the Doctor were laughing as they climbed out of the car, but Amy and Rory were both a bit pale.

Amy laughed nervously. "Well, that was fun, but... not what I was expecting at all. Wow..."

Rory just shook his head. "I don't think I do very well with roller coasters... at least backwards ones..."

They walked into the gift shop to see the picture taken of them on the ride. Amy and Rory both looked petrified, and the Doctor and River had their arms in the air over their heads and looked like they were laughing.

"River... did you put your arms in the air?" the Doctor asked with a bit of smugness. "You look like you're having..._ dare I say it?... FUN!"_

She shrugged at him and smirked. "Maybe..."

The Doctor smiled back at her. "Want to ride it again?"

"Oh yes." She grabbed his hand and began to almost run back to the entrance line.

* * *

**Is it really possible that River is beginning to have fun? :)**

**Just a quick note, I didn't add anything to any of these rides or attractions. That's what they actually do, and how they actually run. Nothing was messing with them this time. :)**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated and welcome, as are constructive critisisms and suggestions!**

Amy and Rory called after them, "We think we'll sit this one out..."


	21. Animal Kingdom: Nemo, Rapids,and a Lodge

**Hello, everyone! I am so very sorry that it's been over two weeks since my last update. Unfortunately, school has started again (actually it started a week and a half ago), and I've already been getting a ton of work. It's very difficult for me to find time to write at the moment. However, rest assured that I will continue with the story, it will just be longet between updates. I have some more notes, but I'll save them for the end of the chapter...**

* * *

Amy and Rory walked through the _Maharaja Jungle Trek_ while they waited for the Doctor and River to get off of _Expedition Everest_. They ended up waiting for about an hour. River and the Doctor rode the ride at least five times in a row.

Once all four were together again, they were deciding what to ride next, but Amy opted for eating lunch first. They decided to eat at the Yak and Yeti restaurant on the other side of the Asia section of the park. After lunch, they walked over to the Africa section of the park to ride the _Kilimanjaro Safari. _Everyone loved looking at the animals, but the Doctor became noticeably agitated at the mention of poachers. When it got to the part of the ride where the guide is enlisted to help find a captured baby elephant, the Ponds could see that he was silently fuming. The thought of someone hurting and/or killing a member of an endangered species struck a chord in the Doctor that few other things could... even if it was just a ride.

Once off the ride and back in Africa (and after saving the baby elephant from the poachers), they consulted the map one last time. They all agreed that they would go see the _Finding Nemo: the Musical_ show, then ride the Khali River Rapids, then go back to the hotel. The park would be closing soon anyway.

Inside the theatre, they took seats just next to a walkway leading to the stage and just in front of the aisle that divided the front half and back half of the audience. The show started about ten minutes after they sat down, and they were surprised at how good it was. It was done with large puppets of the fish, with clearly visible human actors singing, speaking, and operating the puppets. The Doctor was absolutely thrilled (actually, all four of them were) at the fact that the performers walked through the dividing aisle and the one leading to the stage. They had large wind-sack jellyfish flying over their heads, and Dory and Marlin running just behind and next to them many times. River had never actually seen the movie of _Finding Nemo,_ so it was completely new to her. She wondered vaguely a few times if what Marlin and Dory were going through to find Nemo was anything like what her parents and the Doctor went through trying to find her. In fact, the Doctor and her parents _were_ thinking about that too, but despite quick flashes of memories like those, they all enjoyed the show very much.

After the show, they decided that they would go ride the _Khali River Rapids_, and then they would have to leave because the park closed fairly early (6:00). They walked back across the bridge that led to Asia, walked past _Expedition Everest _again, and to the entrance of the queue for the rapids. As they wound back and forth through paths in jungle, temples, and wooden huts, it seemed a bit odd to all of them that there was absolutely no one else in line for the ride. They arrived at the loading building (a large wooden hut with a rotating belt walkway that followed the circular rafts), and walked down to a raft. As they climbed in, a castmember told them to place any loose items in a bin in the centre of the raft that was covered with a plastic tarp. There were eight seats in the raft, so the four of them sat in every other seat.

As the raft got close to pulling away from the dock, Rory asked the castmember, "Why is there no one else riding this? I mean, there was no line..."

The castmember smiled and replied, "It can be a pretty rough ride, and as you can tell by the state of the raft, a pretty wet one too. We warn everyone, you _will_ get wet, and you may get _soaked._.."

The raft pulled away from the dock and began sloshing its way through the surrounding forest. They passed over some geysers shooting out from the water, and Amy got hit by one. She was drenched and screaming while the other three laughed. However, it was Rory's turn next as the raft passed by a waterfall and the raft turned around so that he passed directly through it, making him possibly even more soaked than Amy. Now it was everyone's turn to laugh at him. As the raft progressed, the lush, tropical, Indian rainforests gave way to the bleak and barren scenery of a partially logged and burning forest. Suddenly the sound of roaring water could be heard, and they saw a drop off up ahead. The raft got closer and closer, finally plummeting over the edge of the biggest drop of thirty feet, with the Doctor in the unlucky position of going down the hill backwards and being pummeled by the wave resulting from the raft hitting the lower section of river. At this point, River was the only one in the raft not completely drenched. The raft continued through the white water, a cave, and under a bridge flanked by statues of elephants. Unfortunately for River though, those statues contained water jets in their trunks that were controlled by guests on the bridge. A little kid hit one of the sprayer buttons just as their raft passed by, drenching River. Now it was everyone's turn to laugh at her, and after a moments indignity, River laughed with them. Shortly afterwards, the raft had pulled up at the loading pagoda again, and they climbed out on to the rotating belt again. Their shoes squished as they walked and they were leaving a trail of water behind them as the water dripped off of them.

Once they were standing in the centre of the Asia section again, River suggested, "I think we should go back to the hotel to get cleaned up and changed. I, for one, do not want to ride anymore rides while I am this wet."

The other three nodded, and they headed out of the park.

The Doctor had the TARDIS hidden in some bushes outside the park gates, and they all climbed in (more like squelched as their wet shoes walked across the glass floor). The Doctor set some coordinates for the hotel, and within seconds they had landed. When they stepped outside though, it wasn't the Boardwalk hotel. This hotel had huge wooden, tree-trunk like beams and a thatched roof. The Doctor smiled at the Ponds' confused faces and spread his arms while announcing, "Welcome to the Animal Kingdom Lodge! They have rooms... ON THE SAVANA! HOW COOL IS THAT?!" And with that, he bounded inside.

The Ponds followed him in to the building, which had a huge atrium with chandeliers that looked like they were made of warrior shields. There was African art everywhere, and there was even a small stream running through the right hand side of the lobby.

After just a few minutes, the Doctor returned with some room keys and led everyone to the hallway on the left side of the lobby. They walked past two smaller atriums where several hallways intersected to a set of doors on the left. The Doctor and River walked into their room, and Amy and Rory walked into theirs.

The first thing River noticed in the room made her roll her eyes and sigh. She looked over at the Doctor who was grinning like a child. "Really my love? Bunk beds?"

"What's wrong with bunk beds? Bunk beds are cool! It's a bed... WITH A LADDER! But, that's not even the coolest part of the room!" he replied as he took her hand and led her over to the windows and balcony. "Close your eyes..." he told her. She did, and he pulled open the shades, opened the door, and led her out to the balcony. "Ok, open them."

River did as she was told and gasped. The savannah for the _Kilimanjaro Safaris_ spread out before them, but it was different. There was no track for the cars.

"The ride doesn't come back here, but they still have all the animals. See? There's a wildebeest, an ostrich, some cranes... all right outside our room! River, you _have _ to admit, this is _very, very cool."_

She smiled as she looked at the sun setting over the savannah. "Yes. It is."

* * *

**Notes:**

**1) The bit at the very end about the bunk beds in their room is based on an actual experience I had. My parents ordered a room with a king bed and a sofa bed, but we got a room with a king bed and bunk beds. ...I was absolutely thrilled. :) And actually, to my knowledge and experience, the Animal Kingdom Lodge is the only hotel on Disney property to have bunk beds in the rooms.**

**2) To anyone who has seen the season 7 opener that was on two days ago (_Assylum of the Daleks_) you know that there was a pretty substantial revelation about Amy and Rory. I won't say what it was (for those of you who haven't seen it yet), but I will say that I may mention it in later chapters because I feel that it actually makes this story a bit sadder for the two of them.**

**Next update will be whenever I find time to write, but hopefully within the next week or so.**

**Reviews are appreciated.**


	22. Baby Giraffes and Future World: Part 1

**School has not let up at all, so I'm going to say it's safe to assume that chapters will only be coming once every other week now. Sorry about that, but I've just been getting too much work. I was supposed to be writing a current events essay while I wrote this instead...**

* * *

When River awoke the next morning, she looked up to see the top bunk empty. (She had not been able to talk the Doctor out of sleeping in separate bunks. He insisted that there wasn't enough room for both of them in one bunk.) She looked around the room to see that it was also empty, as was the bathroom. She was just about to open the shades over the sliding door to the balcony when she heard a yelp from outside.

She pulled open the curtains to find the Doctor standing outside, face to face with a giraffe, and his head appeared to be covered in some sort of slime. As she stepped outside, the Doctor and the giraffe both turned to look at her.

"Oh, good morning River! I wasn't tired last night, so I only slept for about an hour. I spent the rest of the night out here watching all of the animals... until this big fellow here came along. River, did you know that giraffes have _extremely_ long tongues?"

Almost as if on cue, the giraffe stuck out its tongue and licked the Doctor's face, leaving another coat of slime in its wake.

River made an amused/slightly grossed out face and laughed. "You know Sweetie, he may think that you're family... there is a bit of resemblance..."

Just then, a baby giraffe came wobbling up next to the big one, who promptly stopped licking the Doctor and leaned down to twist its neck around that of the baby.

River looked back and forth between the two giraffes, particularly the baby, and the Doctor, who had that look on his face that made him look like an excited child. They actually _did _look quite a bit alike. The smaller giraffe, not quite being tall enough to reach its head over the balcony railing contented itself with leaning its head through the slats on it and nibbling the Doctor's trouser legs. River had to laugh again.

"I assume we're going to be out here a while?" she asked.

The Doctor smiled then grimaced as he received a face full of giraffe tongue and saliva again. "Yep!"

* * *

They actually didn't go to a park that day. The three Ponds and the Doctor all switched between sitting together on each other's balconies and walking around the other parts of the savannah that had pathways. They also went swimming. The Doctor was thrilled that the pool had a waterslide, even though it was a fairly small one.

"You know, we should try staying at the Beach Club hotel! There is a waterslide for their pool that is on the mast of a pirate ship! And it goes over the boardwalk and into the main pool, which even has a lazy river! ...Well, besides ours..." he said grinning cheekily at River.

She narrowed her eyes and smacked him. "Do you not want to go to Epcot tomorrow? Because if you keep this up, I will refuse to go!"

He just smiled.

* * *

They passed another night in the bunk beds and after breakfast with Amy and Rory, the all decided that they would go to Epcot that day. This of course meant that the Doctor had to move the TARDIS again because he wanted to switch hotels again and stay at the Beach Club after all.

After saying goodbye to the giraffe family (and after another bout of being drooled on for the Doctor), the Ponds took a bus over to Epcot while the Doctor moved the TARDIS to the Beach Club. They all agreed to meet at the front of the main plaza, just underneath Spaceship Earth (or the large golf ball as Rory called it).

They stood there studying the map trying to plan out what they wanted to see and do. However, River looked at the bottom of the map to see the labels for the two sections of the park and groaned.

"What?" Amy and Rory both asked.

River shook her head and pointed to the map. "_Future World._ Oh, I really hope that the Doctor doesn't spend the entire time we're in this half of the park pointing out how the future is nothing like any of this... because you know he will."

"Like when he points out all of the mistakes in museums," Amy said with a smile.

River looked up and smiled back. "Exactly like when he's in a museum."

After a few more minutes the Doctor reappeared, walking from the opposite direction of the entrance gate.

"How did you get in? You came from the wrong direction..." Rory asked and stated.

The Doctor smiled, "Oh, well there's a back gate by where the hotel is. Remember the lagoon that we took the boat from the Boardwalk hotel to the Hollywood Studios park? That's attached to the World Showcase Lagoon over there, and the actual boardwalk in front of that hotel runs the whole way to a back gate to the park between the UK and France pavilions in the World Showcase! Although, it is a shorter walk to that entrance from the Beach Club hotel than it would have been from the Boardwalk hotel... But anyway, let's ride something! I heard that you need Fastpasses for that _Soarin' _ride, so we should probably go get those first."

They started off towards the Land pavilion on the right side of Future World. Upon arriving inside, they took an escalator down to the lower floor where the entrance to _Soarin' _was, and they walked over to the Fastpass distribution area. Each then took their park entrance tickets, inserted them into the machines and got small tickets with an hour timeframe on them. Their tickets all said _"Return between 1:55 and 2:55". _They looked up at the clock above the Fastpass entrance line to see that it said it was currently 11:38.

"Now what?" Amy asked.

"There was a boat ride back there..." Rory suggested, pointing back towards where the escalator was. To the left of the escalator, there was indeed a boat ride, and it had no line. The sign above the queue read _Living with the Land_, and all along the queue, various quotes about the earth and the environment were painted on the walls in color schemes representing the four seasons. They wound through the many turnstiles before finally boarding a boat with a few other families. The ride went through various habitats and biomes with animatronic animals before entering the Epcot greenhouses. While the Doctor and Rory were actually enjoying the ride, River and Amy were a bit bored. That is, they were bored until they saw the Nine-Pound Lemons.

Then they were impressed.

Amy also pointed out that in the aquaculture room, one of the shrimp tanks had a piece of wire mesh in it that was shaped like a Mickey Mouse head. Rory had his guidebook again and found a section of "Hidden Mickeys", reading that the shape was present in every single ride within the four parks, as well as in the architecture of the buildings, the landscaping, and even the sidewalks. River decided they should have a competition for who could spot the most Hidden Mickeys throughout the remainder of the day.

After getting off the ride, it was only noon, so they decided to go over to the Seas pavilion next door. They passed the sign for the _The Seas with Nemo and Friends_, which happened to have some fake tide pools next to it, through which waves crashed... and the seagulls from _Finding Nemo_ yelled, "MINE, MINE MIIIIIINE, MINE, MINE!" every once in a while.

They wound through yet another long queue, but this one had to be one of the longest yet. They started out in a room that looked like a beach, then progressed to another room that made it look like they were now under water. After walking through two more rooms, they arrived at the loading belt, and the Doctor and River loaded into one "Clammobile" while Amy and Rory climbed into another one. The ride took them through various scenes from the movie, including a room full of jellyfish, the EAC with Crush, and a pitch black room with an animatronic Angler Fish chasing Dory and Marlin. That scene made the Doctor jump and reach for his sonic before River placed her hand over his to stop him. The ride ended by passing by the main fish tank of the pavilion, into which, it seemed that Dory, Nemo, Marlin, Crush, Squirt, and other fish from the movie were swimming along side the real fish in the tank while they sang the "In the Big Blue World" song from the musical they had seen two days before in Animal Kingdom. After getting off of the ride, they walked around the aquariums for a while and went to see "Turtle Talk with Crush", where the audience got to talk to and ask questions of Crush. The Doctor insisted upon sitting on the floor with the little kids while the Ponds sat a few rows back. At one point, the Doctor raised his hand to ask a question and Crush said, "Oh, hey, the dude in the tweed shell with the bowtie wants to ask a question! Hey, cool bowtie, dude."

That made the Doctor's day.

After the show, it was still only 12:30, so they decided to have lunch.

The Doctor lead them out of the Seas pavilion, along a walkway to its back where there was another set of doors and a sign that said _The Coral Reef Restaurant_. Inside, the decor was sandy tans and browns on the floor to look like sand, and blue walls with various glass decorations that looked like shells, seaweed, and coral. After waiting a few minutes (somehow there was a canceled reservation whose table they got to use), they were led into the main dining room. One wall of this room was almost entirely glass, and looked into the large fish tank. Luckily for the Doctor and the Ponds, their table was right next to the glass. They spent their meal watching the sharks, fish, and sea turtles swim bye, as well as the odd diver.

By the time they were finished eating, it was about time to use their Fastpasses, so they started back over to the Land pavilion.

* * *

**Yay, Soarin'! :) I can't wait to write about that next. And yes, I had to put in the comparison of the Doctor to a baby giraffe, since everyone says Matt Smith is one... and frankly I agree. ^.^**

**Reviews are always welcome and appreciated! Everyone who reviews will get a giraffe lick! XD**


	23. Future World: Part 2

**Sorry it's been so long, everyone! School is just bleh, and ruling my life. Also, I had a Doctor Who themed Halloween party last night, and I've spent all of my freetime in the past three weeks decorating for it and finishing my River Song costumes. I'd also just like to let you know that I'm hoping to wrap up this story by about a month from now because I'm going to actually be in Disney World then, and I was hoping to post the final chapter while we're there. I feel like it would be fitting. **

**Also, I must admit that after last weekends fall finale episode, I had no will to write because my soul was just crushed by sadness. I won't say anything for the sake of those of you who have not seen it yet, but... ugh. Too many feelings. **

**Anyway, on with the story!**

* * *

Once at the Land Pavilion, they rode the escalators back down to the first floor (you enter the building on the second storey) and walked over to the entrance to _Soarin'. _They produced their Fastpasses, and after the Castmember at the gate checked to make sure they had the correct time, they proceeded into the queue. They walked through a long hallway, turned a corner, and were met by another castmember who collected the Fastpass tickets and pointed them to a hallway branching off to the left. They walked a ways down that hall then stopped shortly because the queue was still backed up.

"...I thought we were supposed to get those Fastpass things to avoid the lines..." Amy said as she craned her neck to see how many people were in front of them.

The Doctor stood on tiptoe and looked over the crowd of heads. "Well, I suppose in many cases, the Fastpasses are just a way to shorten the wait. Not eliminate it." He went back to standing normally and put on a pouty face. "I hate waiting."

River smiled and shook her head, "It shouldn't be that long, Sweetie. There aren't _too_ many people..."

About ten minutes later they were assigned to the front row in the middle of the three sections of cars. They entered a room with a huge IMAX-style screen and rows of seats that vaguely looked like those on airplanes. They sat down, fastened the seatbelts, and River and Amy placed their bags in the compartments under the seats. After a few moments, a voice came over the speakers and said, "_Clear for takeoff..." _The room went dark, and the rows of seats were suddenly elevated up to the screen at varying elevations of thirty, twenty, and ten feet. Being in the front row, the Doctor and the Ponds were up at thirty feet. The Doctor grinned, swinging his feet as he leaned down to look at the people in the second row behind and beneath them.

"You idiot..." River sighed as she pulled him back up to normal sitting position. The screen in front of them was showing clouds whooshing by, and after a moment, they broke through them to see the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco beneath them on the screen. It really felt like they were flying! The Doctor put his arms in the air and leaned forward. When he turned around for a moment to see if anyone else had followed his lead, he was met with amused looks from all three Ponds... so he grabbed River's hand and pulled her forward, she in turn grabbed Amy's hand, and Amy grabbed Rory's so they were all leaning forward out to the screen with their clasped hands in front of them for the remainder of the ride.

After the final scene (which included flying through a fireworks show at Disneyland), the room went dark again, and the rows of seats descended to the ground. Amy and River collected their bags, and all four exited the ride. They all had smiles on their faces.

"If the line weren't so incredibly long, I would say we should ride it again..." the Doctor said as they left the building.

"Maybe later." River replied as she took the map back out. "So, what else to we want to see in this section of the park?"

Amy, Rory, and the Doctor all looked over River's shoulders to see the map. Rory pointed to the _Spaceship Earth _ride where they'd met up earlier. "Why don't we go ride that, and afterwards, we can ride the rides on the East side of the park?"

Everyone agreed, and they walked back to the massive structure.

There was no wait, and they walked straight into the ride. The cars were blue, and arranged so as to fit four people: two in the front seat, and two in the back. The Doctor and River took the front with Amy and Rory behind. There were little screens in front of them in the cars, and these screens asked them to pick a language. Amy and Rory picked English, but before River could press it on their screen, the Doctor picked Korean.

"Doctor! Really?"

He just grinned. "The TARDIS will translate it for us, and even if she didn't I can still read it, and I bet you can too."

"Just because I can, doesn't mean I _want_ to..."

The cars pulled up into darkness. A screen above them warned them that their pictures were about to be taken. Of course the Doctor made a stupid face. River just rolled her eyes at him, and the camera caught her doing that. After the pictures were taken, a voice began to narrate. For the Amy and Rory, it was in English, while for River and the Doctor it was Korean.

River looked over at the Doctor. "I hate you."

They pulled through a scene of prehistoric man telling stories by a fire in a cave while others painted on the walls. After that, they passed into a scene of ancient Egypt, with a scribe pounding papyrus to record the dictation of the Pharaoh and the Queen next to him. Upon seeing the Egyptian queen, the Doctor smiled and leaned over to River and said, "You know, you looked better in that outfit than she does... I always thought Egypt suited you."

River couldn't help but smile. After Egypt, there was a small scene of Phoenician fisherman which led into a scene of a Roman messenger speaking to an official. Amy nudged Rory and said, "That may as well be you! My Roman..." She pecked him on the cheek.

After Rome, there was an extremely brief scene of the burning of the Library of Alexandria, which led to the Middle Ages in the Middle East, which gave way to scenes of the Renaissance. After that were some scenes of the Industrial Revolution, including a mass production newspaper press, news of the end of WWI, and a news reel from the 1930s. There was also a small scene on the left of a family sitting in a 1960s style living room, watching a television that was playing Neil Armstrong stepping on to the moon. The Doctor shook his head at seeing this. "Every person who goes through this ride gets their orders to kill the Silence... well, at least these parks should be safe from them then." He shook his head. River placed her hand over his.

There were a few more scenes before the ride came out of a tunnel and into a huge open area at the very top of the ride, where it looked like they were in space, among the stars, and looking down at Earth. Having seen the real thing, it was not quite as impressive to the four of them as it would be to anyone else, but it did still make an impact. After going through that area, their car turned backwards and began to descend back into another tunnel. The screens in the cars came back to life and began to ask questions. By the time they were finished, they were almost back to ground level. After a few moments of a screen saying, "_We're creating your future!"_, a video began to play. The video was a bunch of cartoon animations with cartoon people, except the two people had the Doctor's and River's pictures as the heads. Amy 's and Rory's had the two of them. All four of them just burst out laughing at the absurdity of it. After getting off the ride, the Doctor ran over to some touch screens in a large room next to where the ride unloaded. After punching in a few things, then sonicing the screen, he turned and smiled at the three Ponds before pointing to one of the large screens above them. Their pictures flashed up briefly before disappearing to where they had placed as their hometowns. The Doctor had lied and said London for the four of them, but for some reason, Amy and Rory's went to the area of New York instead.

The Doctor looked confusedly at the screen. "Weird. I told it London."

"Eh, probably a technology mix up. It doesn't matter." Amy said with a shrug.

"Well, I emailed the videos to the TARDIS anyway. That's what really mattered." the Doctor said with a huge grin. "What next?"

River was looking at the map again. "How about _Mission Space_? Yes, I know we can actually go into space any time we like, but just for fun..."

A random person walked by and heard River say this. He gave the four of them a strange look and continued walking.

"I won't say that so loudly next time..."

So they went to ride _Mission Space_, and the Doctor complained the entire time they were on it about how wrong they were about everything. After that, they rode the _Test Track_, where Amy sat in the area of the driver's seat. When they got off the ride Rory said to her, "Even when you're not actually driving... you still probably shouldn't be driving."

Amy smacked his arm. "Shut up, stupidface."

They were looking at the map once again, but this time the Doctor had it. And he found something that caught his interest. "Ok, I don't care about anything else in this section of the park, but I want to go to Club Cool. Let's go!" and he took off running, yelling, "GERONIMO!" as he went.

The Ponds all just shrugged and ran after him.

Once arriving at Club Cool, they found that it was a store sponsored by Coca Cola that had free samples from different soda pops from around the world.

The Doctor was beside himself. "THIS PLACE IS COOL. SO COOL. LITERALLY. IT EVEN HAS COOL IN ITS NAME! ...ALTHOUGH I MUST ADMIT THAT I THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE MORE BOWTIES BECAUSE BOWTIES ARE COOL TOO."

Amy, Rory, and River watched the Doctor with wide eyes. "That's why you said to not give him sugar, yeah?" Amy said to River.

"That is _exactly_ why."

* * *

**Review, please? If I get a bunch of reviews, I may have a link to some fanart for those animations they got while riding Spaceship Earth... ;)**

**In any case, thanks for reading, and sticking with me on this!**


	24. World Showcase: Part 1

After finally dragging the Doctor away from Club Cool, (they literally had to _drag _him...) they started off for the Mexico pavilion on the left side of the World Showcase. River liked the fact that the main building was modeled after the Great Pyramid at Chitzen Itza, which is one of the largest archaeological sites in Mexico. Upon walking inside, they passed an exhibit on Mexican folk art before passing into the main pavilion. Oddly enough, the inside of the building was made to look like they were outside in a Mexican marketplace at night. Of course the first thing that caught the Doctor's eye was a cart full of gigantic sombreros. His eyes lit up as he ran towards the piles of hats, some of which were elaborately decorated felt with embroidery while others were made of straw with brims that were five feet in diameter. It was one of these huge ones that the Doctor put on.

The other three Ponds walked among the other carts looking at the other wares. River and Amy liked the embroidered dresses and shirts. Rory was just trying to get the Doctor away from the sombreros.

While he was doing that, Amy and River noticed that there was a restaurant where the dining room over looked the pavilion's boat ride, a few other shops, and a small bar in addition to the carts. Amy and River looked over at their respective husbands only to see that rather than getting the Doctor away from the hats, the Doctor had succeeded in getting Rory to wear one too. Both women shook their heads.

"I don't know about you, but if they're going to be like this for the rest of the day, then I think I want a drink to help me deal with them..." River said softly to Amy who nodded in reply. They walked over to the bar and ordered a shot of tequila each.

While Amy and River were gone, the Doctor finally noticed that there was in fact a ride in the pavilion. He turned around to point this out to the women and Rory when he saw that Amy and River were gone. Upon turning around again, he saw that Rory was also gone. After looking around the carts and inside all the shops quickly, he spotted the three of them in the bar. He ran over to them.

"What are you doing? We don't have time for the three of you to be just sitting here drinking! There's a ride in here! There's still eleven other pavilions to visit before the end of the day! Come along Ponds!" he said as he grabbed River's and Amy's hands and pulled them towards the ride while Rory paid for their drinks.

The ride was _The Three Caballero's Grand Fiesta Tour_, and it took them through various Mexican towns while Jose Carioca and Panchito from _The Three Caballeros _movie searched for Donald Duck. While they were riding through Rory remarked, "Why haven't we ever actually been to Mexico? "

Amy agreed, saying, "Yeah, Doctor, why haven't you ever taken us to Mexico?"

"I have no idea why not, it's a beautiful country in any era... although personally, I do like it best after the Mayans left, and for the record that was not my fault! They chose to go with the Itxaca warships... It's not my fault that they followed me there..." he babbled the second part of this response to River who was looking at him bemusedly, knowing all the theories about the disappearance of the Mayan people herself. Of course no one on Earth would ever believe that it actually was the result of aliens...

She gently placed her hand over the Doctor's mouth. "It's alright Sweetie, you don't have to tell us, and other people are staring..."

He turned around and saw that sure enough, the people in the boat behind them _were_ giving them strange looks. The Doctor stared back at them for a moment before grinning hugely and waving to them while yelling "HELLO!" at them.

Amy put her face in her hands and muffledly said, "Oh my god, Doctor, you are _four..._"

River just rolled her eyes and pulled the Doctor back to a forward facing, seated position.

After getting off the ride, the Doctor wanted to move right on to the next pavilion (thankfully River had talked him out of buying one of the sombreros), but Amy and Rory told him and River to go on without them; they'd catch up.

The Doctor shrugged and took River's hand before bounding out of the building. River looked back to see her parents walking back into the bar.

"Lucky..." she muttered under her breath.

They went on to the next pavilion, which was Norway. After riding the ride there,(which was full of trolls that the Doctor thought were creepy) and going through the gift shop afterwards... ("No, Sweetie, you may not buy the Viking helmet with the blonde braids." "BUT RIVER, IT'S SO COOL..."), they continued through the rest of the World Showcase. Fortunately for the Doctor, every pavilion had a store that sold hats. ("River, look! It's like "around the world with hats"!)

Unfortunately for River, every pavilion had a store that sold hats. ("NO.")

In China: "River, look at these hats! THESE are cool! They're all reed-y and woven and slightly conical but not really... more like if you squished a cone down so it was very wide at the bottom and fairly flat... OH AND THEY HAVE PUPPETS!"

It took River quite a while to get the Doctor out of China, but it did take a little longer because he finally convinced her to play with one of the marionette puppets for a short while.

In Germany: "Woah, River, look at this! Not only do they have these hats with feathers, they have _lederhosen! _ Could I..."

"NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT."

After that store they walked across the plaza of the pavilion to another store, this one selling crystal and glass wares.

"Sweetie, I'm not so sure if this is the best idea..." River broke off as she noticed the Doctor was no longer by her side. "Doctor...?"

She suddenly felt something being placed on her head. She went to pull it off, but the Doctor caught her hand. When River turned to face him, she saw that he was wearing something on his head too...

"That's an even worse idea than the lederhosen were."

The Doctor was wearing a tiara.

"But River, it is a kind of hat! I mean, sort of... really I guess it's just headwear, but they look so good! Yours looks good!"

River raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her reflection in a mirror behind her. The Doctor had picked a fairly simple one that had red crystals and golden metalwork. She had to admit to herself it _was _pretty...

"If I wear this, do you promise to not get the one you're wearing and not wear this one if I take it off?"

The Doctor pouted. "But why?"

"Sweetie, tiaras just don't look as good on a man... or a cosmic nine-year-old in your case."

He pouted some more but finally agreed. And River continued wearing the one he bought for her.

In Italy: "River, I can't find any hats here, but look at these REALLY cool masks!"

"Sweetie... be _careful_ with those. They're- *_CRASH_* ...fragile."

After paying for three broken Venetian masks, they moved on.

In America: "Ooh! They have tri-cornered hats! They're like pirate hats, but not really! And they have bonnets! River, do you think you would-"

"No. I'm wearing the tiara. I'm not wearing a bonnet. Absolutely not."

In Japan: "OH MY GOSH, RIVER LOOK AT ALL OF THE CUTE ANIMAL STUFF, AND THESE HATS... THEY LOOK LIKE PANDA BEARS."

River actually didn't hear him, and if she did, she just ignored him, hoping that he would let it go. Meanwhile, she was watching a strange ritual that was taking place at the other end of the store. There was a large counter with water tanks on its sides which were filled with oysters. Someone would pay, then pick an oyster from the tank, and then one of the two or three young Japanese girls at the counter would bow to the person and the oyster before cutting it open to get out its pearl, which the person then got to keep.

_I think Mum might like that..._ she thought absent-mindedly. She wasn't sure why, but she just felt like Amy would really enjoy it. She would need to mention it to both of her parents later.

And River did just manage to get the Doctor out of the store without buying any hats. The woman making candy shaped like animals outside was interesting enough to make him temporarily forget about them, and before he could remember, River was pulling him towards the next pavilion.

In Morocco: The instant they walked into the Morocco pavilion, River decided it was her favorite. The bright colors and exotic sounds and smells just appealed to her immensely: much more so than those of the other pavilions. However, there was one downfall of the pavilion...

They sold fezzes.

They had an entire section of market place for fezzes.

There was a sign on the side of one building that read "Fez Room".

...

To say the Doctor was elated would have been the understatement of the history of the Universe.

" , ,LOOKATTHEFEZROOM, , ,BUTIAMNEVERLEAVINGHERE...WAIT,COULDIPUTTHISWHOLEPAVILION_IN_THETARDIS?!ISTHATPOSSIBLE? 'LLDOTHAT..."

This went on for at least a half hour. River thought she was going to lose her mind... that is, until she had an idea to distract the Doctor from all those fezzes...

He was talking to one of the Cast members about the fezzes when he turned to gesture to River, and he noticed she was no longer anywhere in sight.

"River? River...!" He frowned. He was just getting to telling the Cast member about River shooting his first fez, but now he would have to find her instead.

Just then he heard some music: drumming, and some other Moroccan instruments playing some traditional melody. He walked to the centre of the Marketplace to see three men playing these instruments, and he was about to turn away to look for River when someone stepped out from a doorway behind the three men.

Well, at least the Doctor wasn't going to have to look for her now.

Of course it was River, but she was now dressed in a red, two piece belly dancer costume with silver beading and wearing quite a bit of silver Moroccan jewelry, as well as a beaded headdress. And she was dancing.

She had only been outside for a few seconds, but there was already quite a crowd gathered around the square, watching her and the musicians. After a few minutes, she finally made direct eye contact with the Doctor and sauntered/danced over to him with a playful smirk on her face. She only stopped advancing when she was directly in front of him, invading his personal space quite a bit, while she continued to dance.

The Doctor just smiled and blushed eleven shades of bright red, enough to match River's dress. After a moment, she danced back to the middle of the square, and a few people nudged the Doctor with their elbows and smiled at him, especially quite a few of the men watching. One of them asked, "Is she with you?", and the Doctor just grinned and nodded.

After three songs, River stopped dancing and bowed to the crowd, who clapped and cheered profusely. She smiled to everyone and stepped back through the doorway, only to emerge a few minutes later in her normal clothing after the crowd had dispersed. The Doctor was leaning against a wall, wearing a fez and grinning at her.

"So you still bought on then," River said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes.

"Please don't shoot it. Please don't."

River shook her head. "Just this once, I won't. ...Mostly because I can't shoot it while we're here inside the park, anyway..."

She wouldn't have been able to shoot it anyway after seeing the look of joy on his face at her willingness to let the fez live.

"You should try one River! Although... I don't think it would fit over that glorious hair of yours..."

She gave him an amused look. "Sweetie, there is nothing in on this world or on any other that could convince me to wear one of those."

The Doctor merely shrugged and smiled. Just then, he noticed she was holding a bag, and when he leaned over a bit to see what was inside it, all he could make out was a pile of red cloth.

"...So you bought that then, did you?"

"Luckily for you, I did," she replied through a smirk and a suggestive eyebrow raise. "You seemed to like it on me, so I figured why not?"

The Doctor turned a bit red again but smiled. "I'm not so sure I liked all those other people seeing you in it though..." he remarked as they began to walk out of the pavilion.

"Oh, now who's being jealous...?" she teased back.

Once they were at the front of the pavilion, they looked over towards the direction from which they'd come only to see Amy and Rory walking towards them and waving. Well, Rory was walking, but Amy was leaning on him quite a bit though she was smiling.

The Doctor looked at Amy confusedly and then at Rory questioningly.

"Well, after having one drink in Mexico, Amy decided that we should have one drink at each pavilion... I stopped once we reached Germany, but she's had a few more..." Rory responded while gesturing to Amy. "That has been our day. What about you two...?" he asked as he looked at the Doctor's fez and the bag in River's hand.

River and the Doctor looked at each other and smiled, then looked back at Rory and said at the same time, "Oh... the usual."

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**This isn't the end. It may seem like the end, but it's not quite yet... I didn't have the heart to leave all of you readers with a cliff-hanger or anything like that this time, especially after all that fluff. :)**

**I don't know if it will happen, but I'd like to have another chapter of this up tomorrow or Sunday, so keep watching for those updates!**


	25. World Showcase: Part 2

**...Yes I know I said that I would have this chapter up next weekend. Well, I lied. *shrug* Rule One, right? ;) I will warn you though, that this is not a happy chapter. If you happen to be feeling a bit down today, I recommend you wait to read it.**

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They were going to walk through the remaining three pavilions, but Amy was having trouble walking, so they stopped in the garden area of the France pavilion and sat on one of the benches. The Doctor was distracted by something in a store- _Oh god, not more hats...-_, which left the three Ponds sitting together on a bench. Well, two were sitting; Amy was leaning for support on Rory more than sitting.

"You know, I do like this place," Rory said after a few moments. "It feels nice, just... happy. I know some people say it's too happy, but it really isn't. It's dark too, and sad, (I mean, of course it was for us, nothing is ever normal for us when we're with the Doctor), but it is nice here."

River looked around and shrugged a bit before conceding, "I suppose it is. I mean, it's a little... well... what is the word I'm looking for? ...Innocent, I guess? It's just... everything is so..." she trailed off as she gestured around her.

Throughout this conversation, Amy had been half listening and half watching a family waiting for some princesses to come out for meet and greets in the garden. It was just a small family: mother, father, daughter. The daughter looked to be about four or five, and she was bouncing around excitedly while her parents looked on in content, albeit tired content. While she was happy to see this ideal scene, it sent a pang of pain through Amy. _Why do they get that when we never did?..._ Usually, she had these feelings under control. True, she and Rory didn't get to properly _raise_ River, but they did all grow up together, so they did raise her in a way. She was still ridiculously proud of her daughter, proud of the strong woman she had become, but there were times when it really hurt to see other families having the times together that she, Rory, and River never got to have. Of course, the Doctor had told them that first night at the hotel about that being exactly his reason for bringing them all here. To be a family... some semblance of a normal family... but it wasn't working as the Doctor had planned. Things never did. Between the alien earlier in the week, and the fact that River was still guarding herself, it was not the bonding experience the Doctor or any of them had had in mind.

Amy was envious of that family on the other side of the garden. Her reason was clouded slightly by the alcohol that had been making it so hard for her to walk in a straight line just before, and it was also bringing up emotions and thoughts that were normally either buried or not applicable or true on a normal basis.

When she heard River say the parks were too innocent, she looked over at her daughter. "And what is wrong with that? There are so many children here... at least there's this one place in the world where they can be just safe and happy and together. Why not let it be innocent?" The words came out slower than Amy had intended and with a bit more bitterness in her voice too.

River heard it and sighed. "I know this isn't what the two of you had in mind. I know it's not what the Doctor had in mind-Yes, I know why he brought us here, and no I don't think it's really working either. I mean, we're all having a good time and all, but it's not what he intended," she passed a hand over her face. "And I know it's not what you wanted. But that's the thing. _I cannot just act like those children over there,_" she gestured over to the little girl and a few other kids who were running up to princess Belle and princess Aurora. "I know those aren't real princesses. I know these aren't real countries. I know that none of the stuff here is real, except for that alien that almost killed us two days ago!"

Amy looked River straight in the face, "You could have tried."

"That's just it though. _I can't._ There is no way that I can let myself do that! So please, let's just all spare ourselves the disappointment, and just leave tonight." She looked between Rory and Amy. "You two can come here some day with another child and be like that family over there. I actually don't know why you haven't yet!"

Amy was crying now. "BECAUSE WE CAN'T. RIVER, DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND, WE _CAN'T._ _Don't you think we've tried?_ It can't happen! Our chances for that ever being able to happen were destroyed at Demon's Run..."

"Amy, that's enough. Stop. It's not her fault." Rory said as he gripped Amy's shoulder.

"She was going to have to find out some time, and this is as good as any." She turned back to River. "We are trying so hard to make this as normal as possible, trying to make this like anyone else's family vacation, but you are doing nothing to help with that! You've complained in the parks, you've made no attempt to let go of these barriers you always have up around yourself-"

"Because that creature USED THEM AGAINST ME. Two days ago! You were there, you know what happened, that _thing_ used any weakness I have against me, even through the barriers! I can't tear them down, _I have no choice. _Because otherwise, I have too much missing in my life. How can I act like a child when I never had the chance to be one? How can you expect me to just be able to let go when it's taken me my entire life to be able to hold on? How-..."

River stopped when she realized the Doctor was standing by the bench, looking at her and her parents with a crushed expression on his face. He had come back to find Amy in tears, River nearly so, and Rory trying to calm both of the women down. _How can things go so wrong so quickly all the time? _he wondered to himself. He went to move closer to the bench and maybe sit down to talk with all of them, but River stood up abruptly.

"I'm going back to the hotel... I'll be there if you need me." She then brushed past the Doctor and walked quickly away.

The Doctor looked back at Amy and Rory. Rory looked up at the Doctor. "You didn't know yet, did you?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I had no idea."

Rory looked away and pulled Amy closer to him. "Now you do."

"Is there anything at all I can do to help?"

"...You've done enough already."

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**Told you it was angsty. I am still holding myself to finishing this story next weekend, while I'm in Disney World, so things will be resolved soon. If I don't update again this weekend or before Wednesday (which I intend to, but I'm not sure if I'll get to it), then Happy Halloween to everyone!**


	26. One Man's Dream

**Guess who's actually in Disney World right now? ;)**

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River passed a fairly sleepless night; she felt terrible after her fight with Amy. She spent most of the evening sitting out on the porch, looking up at the stars, wishing that she was among them in the TARDIS. She just wanted to get away.

The Doctor didn't sleep that night either, though he never slept much to begin with. However, he stayed inside and left River to herself. He knew she just needed to be alone.

When morning came, it was agreed that they would go back to the Hollywood Studios. If the day went poorly, then they would leave in the TARDIS that evening, and if it went well, then they would decide what to do from there.

Upon their arrival at the Hollywood Studios, the Doctor and Rory ran to get fastpasses for the _Toy Story Mania _ride, while River looked at the movie memorabilia in _Sid's Antiques_ and Amy walked around some other shops. Afterwards, the four met up at the central plaza in front of Mickey's Sorcerer Hat.

"We should definitely go see _Muppet Vision 3D _today... and maybe ride the Tower of Terror again. I think that's about it... when we finish doing those things, we'll see if there's anything else we want to do. Okay? Okay," the Doctor decided when no one would suggest what to do.

They went to see _Muppet Vision_, and of course the Doctor loved it. Actually, Rory enjoyed it as much as the Doctor did, which was a surprise to all four of them. After the movie, they continued walking through the backlot for a while. After that, they were heading towards the front of the park again to ride the _Tower of Terror _again, when they passed the entrance for the _Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular_ show. The Doctor decided that they had to go in there too, and during the course of the show, all four of them were recruited to be extras in the marketplace scene. River was mad that she wasn't allowed to do any real stunts, which only worsened her already negative mood. They were about to go back to the _Tower of Terror _then when the Doctor remembered something. He asked Rory for the map of the park and smiled as he located what he was looking for.

"Here. We have to go see this: _One Man's Dream._ It's all about the life and work of Walt Disney; it's kind of like a little museum, just for him. We have to see it." And with that, he took River's hand in his right and Amy's hand in his left, and led them off to the other side of the park. Rory took Amy's other hand and followed.

Upon arriving at the entrance, an older man with white hair and a kind smile welcomed them to the exhibit. Once inside, the Doctor and the Ponds all split up, going to look at different parts of the exhibit on their own. The Doctor looked quickly at everything, speed-reading all of the signs and placards. He didn't really need to read them anyway. He knew what they all said. Amy and Rory worked slowly through the building, starting at the section about Walt's childhood. River looked quickly at everything, no really seeing any of it, before stopping to sit on a bench towards the end of the exhibit that sat across from a TV playing a clip of Walt introducing his idea for Epcot. She watched it play over twice without really hearing or seeing it, so lost was she in her own thoughts. After a moment she sensed a presence next to her. She looked up to see the Doctor standing next to her, smiling sadly at her.

"Can I sit?" he asked as he gestured to the empty space next to River on the bench.

"Sure, I guess."

He sat and watched the clip of Walt play out. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.

"I knew him, you know."

River looked over at the Doctor confusedly. She had been lost in her thoughts again.

The Doctor pointed to Walt on the screen. "I knew him. Well, I suppose I also know him. Time travel..."

River just stared back at the Doctor before finally speaking. "What's he like?"

The Doctor smiled. "I should take you to meet him some time. I think you'd like him, almost everyone did... does... whatever tense you want to use of that..."

River turned back to actually watch the video clip as it played over again. The Doctor looked at her profile as she stared ahead.

"Do you know why he built this place? Well, Disneyland at least, and why he _wanted_ to build this place?"

River turned back to the Doctor and shook her head "no".

"He came up with the idea when he took his daughters to a park one day. He watched them playing on a Carousel while he sat on a bench just watching, and he decided then that he wanted to build a place where children and their parents could have fun together..."

At this remark, River began to turn away from the Doctor and moved so as to get up, but he gently grabbed her arm and held her down.

"No, River, please listen to me. He didn't just want children and their parents to enjoy it, he wanted everyone, of any age and from anywhere to enjoy it _together_. He just wanted a place where everyone could be happy." He could see River was trying her hardest to keep calm. He wasn't sure which emotion was fighting to surface in her, but she was trying her hardest to not give it the chance. "River, I know this is hard for you. I know you know why I brought you and your parents here, and I know why it is so hard for you to let yourself go. I blame myself; you were raised to hate and kill, and I didn't stop them from doing that to you." He paused. "...I could have saved you from them, but by doing that, I would have forfeited the you that we know now... and I was too selfish to do that." He passed a hand over his face and then looked right at her again. "I am so sorry."

She stared at him for a moment then reached over and took his hand. "I'm glad you didn't change it. A normal life was never for me, or Amy and Rory for that matter."

The Doctor squeezed her hand back and smiled a tiny bit. "I know."

"But you do realize that this still doesn't change the fact that I can't let myself go over this. It's just too hard. It would just... I don't even know if I can, honestly."

The Doctor nodded and stood up, still holding her hand. He gently pulled her up and they stood there just grasping each other's hands for a minute or two.

"So, what now?" River finally asked.

"Well, there's a movie through those doors that starts in a few minutes. It's about Walt's life, like the rest of the museum... but we should see it. Let's go get Amy and Rory..."

They found them and then all took their seats in the small movie theatre. The movie began to play, narrated by Walt himself through the use of various clips and sound-bytes from interviews. As River watched it, and heard the man who had dreamed up and built the parks talk about those dreams, she realized that was what she needed. Hearing Walt's passion, enthusiasm, and love for the place he had dreamed up, as well as his love for his family, finally helped to unlock that part of River that had been walled up and nearly crushed during her childhood. She understood.

When the movie was over, she let her parents walk out ahead, and she stopped the Doctor. He was about to ask her what she wanted, but he was silenced by her mouth on his. When she pulled away, she leaned over to his ear and whispered, "Thank you," before kissing his cheek and running out to join Amy and Rory.

At _Toy Story Mania _a short time later, River asked Amy if they could sit next to each other in the same side of the car. Amy was about to politely refuse when she saw the look of earnestness on River's face, and she agreed.

In the games, River let Amy win, but both of their scores were thousands higher than those the Doctor and Rory got, and the two women spent the rest of the day rubbing that fact in their respective husbands' faces.

It was agreed they would at least spend one last night at a hotel, and the Doctor decided they should go back to the Floridian. River had liked it there best.

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**One more chapter and an epilogue after this. :) Thank you to everyone for sticking with me through this.**


	27. When You Wish Upon A Star

**I'm so sorry this has taken so long. I figured out what I wanted to write while I was in Disney a month ago, but I couldn't find the right way to say it. I wanted this chapter to be perfect. It's far from being that, but I'm pretty happy with it.**

**I'll get this out of the way before the actual narrative starts again: I'd like to take this moment here to quickly thank everyone who has read this story: especially those who have stuck with me since the very beginning in May. All the reviews, favorites, and alerts really came as a shock to me throughout writing this; I've never posted anything this popular before! Also, I'd like to give a special thank you to people who gave suggestions that helped me to improve this story as well as make it more fun for all of you reading it. All of the support I've received has been absolutely amazing and mind blowing. I am so grateful. To those of you who have been to Walt Disney World, I hope I've done it justice for all of you out there who love it as much as I do, and to those of you who have never been, I hope I've given you a good idea of what it's like and maybe even made you want to visit for yourselves now. :)**

**After this chapter, there will be an epilogue, but I won't be writing any more author's notes after this, so I will say farewell to all of you now and thank you so much again.**

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River was the first one up the next morning. They had managed to get the same room at the Floridian as they'd had a few days before, and she stood out on the balcony, looking out over the Seven Seas Lagoon. She was about to go back inside when she heard the door to the next balcony to her right open: the door to her parents' balcony. River leaned over the railing and around the divider between the two parts of the balcony to see Rory standing there. He didn't see River at first, but she called over to him softly.

"Morning, Dad."

Rory turned around and smiled at her. It was still always a bit strange when she called him Dad, but he liked it; it felt right. "Morning, River."

She leaned farther over the railing and around the divider. It was strange, she knew she wanted to talk, but she was a bit at a loss as to what she wanted to say. So she settled for something mundane. "Are you up so early because you couldn't sleep?"

"No, well... kind of." He rubbed his face. "I guess I didn't sleep well last night."

At this point, River had begun to climb over the railing and around the divider so she could stand on the other balcony with Rory. "Is everything okay?" she asked as she sat down in the other chair across from him.

"Well, that depends. I mean, I was up a lot last night because I was thinking... Actually, thinking a lot about you. Are you alright? Because I mean, yesterday... well, compared to the rest of our visit here, you were in a fantastic mood. I wasn't sure if it was genuine or if you were trying to hide something..." River tried to break in here, but Rory continued. "...because I know you do that. Hide what you're really feeling so the rest of us don't get hurt. I wish you didn't do that. If something is bothering you, you should tell us: me and Amy at least, even if you don't want to tell the Doctor."

River shook her head slightly and looked at Rory with a small smile. "You know, you don't often sound like or act like a father, but right now, you are _all_ dad."

"Well, it's strange. I know you know that. I mean, we didn't get a chance to really be parents to you. We were friends, but not proper parents, so it's hard to try to be a parent to you now. Amy and I have the instincts; we want to protect and help you, but we both realize that at the same time, you're completely grown. You have to make your own decisions and live your own life... but that doesn't mean we don't worry about you. Because we do, very much in fact. Also, you didn't answer my question."

River looked down at the floor of the balcony and then out over the lagoon. "I was hurting, but unfortunately that came out during that argument with Amy in Epcot two days ago and when we faced the Trancitluzion the few days before." She looked up and looked Rory right in the eyes. "But I'm much better now. I am, really. I'm not sure what it was, but yesterday during that video... that one about Walt Disney, I think I finally understand this place. And by understanding it and its purpose... I like it much better. I'm actually looking forward to going to the Magic Kingdom today!" She paused in what she was saying to see if she would get any reaction from Rory. He just stared back with a look of expectant patience, so she finished, "I think I understand enough now to try to let go. To let go and enjoy myself."

Rory nodded and smiled at her. "Good. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

River smiled back and walked over to him and gave Rory a hug. "Thanks, Dad."

When the Doctor finally awoke, it was because River was... _poking his shoulder?_ The oddity of this was enough to wake him completely; River never did such a "immature" thing (her own words on one occasion). He sat bolt upright and was about to ask her if she was feeling alright, but he was stopped short when he saw the look of complete innocence on her face. So he simply asked, "River, what is it?"

She didn't answer verbally, but she reached down to pick something up that was on the floor next to her and pulled up her pair of the TARDIS blue Mickey Ears. She looked at them, turning them around to look at her name embroidered in the white thread on the back: _River._ And then she did something completely shocking...

She put them on.

The Doctor's eyes widened and now he was worried that something might actually be wrong with her. "River, are you feeling alright?"

She smiled and simply said, "Do they look alright?"

They looked adorable, flattening some of her hair on top of her head which only caused the rest of it to poof out from underneath in a mass of golden curls even more than it usually poofed. Of course, she also still managed to look gorgeous, even while wearing something so ridiculous, and the Doctor wanted to tell her all of this, but he settled for just grinning like the five-year-old he was so much of the time, leaned over to kiss her on her cheek, and reply, "Yes, they look... _so cool._"

River rolled her eyes and laughed.

The four of them rode back to the Magic Kingdom on the Monorail (all of them wearing their Mickey Ears), River and Amy went though bag inspection again, they all proceeded through the turnstiles, and then stood in front of the train station looking at the sign that read "Let the Memories Begin!".

"Well, I know for sure that we have some interesting memories from this trip... possibly even more than usual," Rory remarked.

The others nodded in agreement.

"So, what are we going to do here today? It's only a little after nine, so we have the entire day left!" the Doctor said excitedly.

Amy and Rory looked at each other and smiled before looking back at the Doctor and answering, "We think River should pick what we do today."

River smiled upon hearing this. "May I see the map?"

They started in Adventureland. River and Amy asked the Doctor and Rory to run over to Space Mountain to get Fastpasses for later and then to all meet back at the Jungle Cruise, which they then rode. River's favorite part was when they rode through the collapsing Cambodian temple; it reminded her of one of her favorite excavations from while she was learning at the Luna University. The Doctor liked the monkeys in the temple, and when he expressed this, Amy and River responded that the reason for that was that the Doctor _was _a monkey. All the monkeys needed were fezzes. They also all had to laugh when upon meeting Trader Sam (the jungle's "Head Salesman"), the guide told them that, "He has a great special right now! Two of his heads (shrunken ones) for one of yours! ...How about you sir?" The guide pointed at Rory. "Would you like to trade your head for two of his?"

Rory shook his head and shrunk down while everyone else in the boat laughed.

"I guess you just have a face for mishap, Dad..." River said when they were off of the ride and walking over to Pirates of the Caribbean.

Once inside Pirates, they chose the right-hand side of the queue, which lead them past a dungeon cell where two skeletons were locked in a game of chess. The Doctor had to stop and stare intrigued at the figures. "You know," he remarked, "That is a very clever joke that I'm sure very few people get: the game is in a state of "perpetual check". There is no way that either of those men could have ever won the game... Which is why I suppose they still appear to be playing." All three of the Ponds just rolled their eyes and dragged the Doctor on to the ride.

The Doctor found the skeletons at the beginning of the ride a bit unnerving (they reminded him of the Vashda Nerada), and none of them were expecting the mermaids that could be seen just below the surface of the water in the caverns. Once their boat had gone over the "waterfall" and they were in the scene with the battle between the fort and the pirate galleon, a "cannon ball" landed in the water right next to them, soaking all four of them at once. Upon exiting the ride, Rory commented, "I expected to get that wet when we were going to ride Splash Mountain... _but on Pirates of the Caribbean?!_"

Amy just laughed and shook her head. "I guess we're just lucky like that..."

River laughed as the Doctor shook his head like a dog trying to dry off. "Tell you what, Sweetie, Amy and I are going to dry off. We'll meet you and Dad over at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, alright? I feel like a ride on Splash Mountain would be unnecessary now..."

The Doctor and Rory both nodded in agreement, and started off towards Frontierland.

After a half hour, they were still sitting on a bench waiting for Amy and River, and the Doctor was getting extremely impatient. Rory was having trouble trying to calm the nine-hundred-and-seven-year-old-who-is-actually-a-seven-year-old and was also wondering where the two women had gotten to when he saw them walking over the bridge towards them. He mentioned this to the Doctor, who immediately ran over to River and Amy only to stop in shock after a second...

"River!... Amy!... What are you two wearing?... It's so... so... COOL!" he began running around them in circles to see their entire outfits.

River smirked. "Sorry it took so long, Sweetie. We figured it was our turn to go to the Pirates League."

It was obvious that's where they had been. Amy was wearing an outfit similar to the one she had worn during their encounter with the Siren and the Pirates, and River was wearing a white poet's shirt with an aqua vest. Her makeup was done in the style based off of the mermaids from the fourth movie in the series, and the Doctor couldn't help but notice that the blues and small amount of orange eye-shadow _really_ brought out the blue-green in River's eyes. Some people may have thought she looked ridiculous: a grown woman with a pirate costume and mermaid makeup on, but the Doctor thought she looked _beautiful._

And more importantly, she looked so _happy._ Genuinely, smiling from ear to ear, eyes sparkling _happy._

Most importantly, it wasn't for just that moment. She was happy as they rode _Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, _and they played a game where if you saw a goat on the mountain, you punched the other rider (the Doctor and Rory were both sure that they would have bruised arms the next day from that game).

She was happy as they ran all over Tom Sawyer Island, and she and the Doctor took a moment in a secluded corner of one of the caves to steal a kiss.

She was happy as they rode the _Haunted Mansion_, and watched as a Hitchhiking Ghost sat in their Doombuggy, which was already crammed full with all four of them in one car.

She was also happy because out of the four rides they'd ridden, she had spotted the Hidden Mickeys on three of the four rides.

They rode _It's a Small World_, and _Peter Pan's Flight._ They went in the 3-D theatre and watched _Mickey's Phillharmagic_, and they rode _The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh_. They rode the teacups, River riding with Rory and Amy riding with the Doctor, and both pairs were having a competition to see which cup could be spun faster... None of them could walk when they got off of the ride, and the Doctor tripped into a flower bed full of topiaries of _Alice in Wonderland _characters.

By then, their Fastpasses for _Space Mountain _were ready, so they walked over to Tomorrowland, and wound through the slightly confusing, and _very_ long queue for the coaster. Upon arriving at the loading gate, the Doctor was put in the front seat, with River behind him, Amy in the car behind her, and Rory in the back. The car passed into a small corridor that flashed many colors of lights, making them feel like they were traveling much faster than they really were. From the tunnel, the cars emerged into what looked like some sort of large space station and from there, they shot off into "space", circling down the track through the darkness and "stars". The Doctor had to admit, it was pretty close to traveling through the Vortex and then space when in the TARDIS, but there were some glaring errors between the two, and he was going to point these out after the ride when River placed one had over his mouth and used the other to grab his wrist and pull him over to where they showed the pictures taken of the cars throughout the ride. The Doctor had his hands in the air and a huge grin on his face, River was rolling her eyes at him but laughing all the same, Amy was screaming, and Rory looked bored.

"Where do they even take the pictures?" Rory asked in annoyance upon seeing this.

"Exactly. You screamed through the whole ride, and they managed to get a picture of you looking bored," Amy responded while laughing.

"I did not scream through the _whole_ ride!"

The Doctor bought the picture anyway.

They all agreed that they would ride skip _Stitch's Great Escape_... for obvious reasons, so they went to _Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin_ next. They all realized that it may not have been the best decision because River broke the score-keeper on the car. The cars held two people each and were equipped with small "laser blasters" that riders were supposed to use to hit targets with "Z"s on them (standing for Zurg, the evil emperor, sworn enemy of the Galactic alliance). So basically, it was like a ride through competitive shooting arcade. The electronic score-keepers could count up to 999,999, but River must have gotten at least four times that score by the end of the ride, causing the small, light-up board to spark and go out. The Doctor ducked down to hide just in case it decided to explode as well.

When they got off, River had the most self-satisfied smirk on her face, and the Doctor looked at her and said, "Really, River, must you look so smug?"

She just laughed and patted his cheek. "Oh, my love, I've seen you look this smug more times than I can count, and you're just jealous that I won."

They headed back to Fantasyland at the Doctor's request, and they noticed something a bit strange for the first time... The _Snow White's Scary Adventures _ride that they had ridden during their first day in the park was gone and covered with a wall to hide what appeared to be some renovations, and there was a stone wall on their right encircling what appeared to be trees and some other buildings that they couldn't see very clearly.

"Was that always there?" Amy asked as she, Rory, and River all stared at it with confused expressions on their faces.

The Doctor just smiled. He didn't stop to explain, but he grabbed River's right hand and Amy's left, who in turn grabbed Rory's left hand, and he led them off to the gate in the stone wall. He flashed his psychic paper at a few Castmembers standing outside of it, and they nodded and stepped away from the stone arch. The Doctor led the others past a cottage among some pine trees; it was Maurice's cottage from _Beauty and the Beast._ He pulled them across a bridge lined with lampposts that had carved mythical creatures at their bases, through an opening in what looked like a mountainside that was held up by carvings of more mythical creatures. From the entrance, they walked down a hall that had suits of armor on either side, and... were those suits of armor moving a bit? And talking?

The three Ponds looked confused, and the Doctor just smiled. "I know you've all seen _Beauty and the Beast,_ so at least _some _of this should look familiar...

The hallway led to a room that looked liked the Beast's parlor, with the great fireplace and the "Master's Chair". When they were part way through the room and close to the door on the opposite side of the room, the Doctor asked them all to close their eyes. They all looked doubtfully at him, but he insisted. He opened the doors and pulled them through. When they had crossed the threshold and he had pulled them all into the centre of the room, he bid them open their eyes, so they did.

And they all gasped at what they saw.

The Doctor smiled at their shocked but amazed faces. They were standing in the middle of the Beast's ballroom, the setting of the famous scene of the movie's title song. There were two tables for two at opposite ends of the room: one over by the windows and one at the other end. When they were finished looking around themselves, they all walked over to the Doctor and enveloped him in a group/family hug. The Doctor and River sat at the table next to the windows and Amy and Rory took the other table.

"My love, how could you have possibly have managed this? ...I think I know now how all of this got here, but..."

"How do you think it got here?" the Doctor responded with a small smirk.

"When we made the trip from the last hotel back to the Floridian in the TARDIS we moved to a different time as well: one a bit in the future from where we were."

"Yes. That would be it."

River smiled. "This place is beautiful. It's hard to believe that it was possible for them to build a building that is so faithful to what was _drawn_ in an animated movie..." she looked around at the painted ceiling and gorgeous chandelier before looking out the enormous windows looking out over a forest and valley covered in show. She looked over at her parents who were laughing and talking while holding hands. She turned back to the Doctor. "You know, all day today I couldn't help but think that... well, I have this nagging feeling that I've been here before, and I don't mean that because we were here a few days ago. I mean... just there were a few things that looked familiar and seemed to try to bring something to surface in my mind that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's nothing, but it doesn't really matter, I guess. I mean, it's not an unpleasant feeling, just... strange."

The Doctor looked at her for a moment. He wasn't really sure what to respond with; there were so many holes in River's mind from her manipulated childhood with the Silence that it could be very possible that she'd been here before and wouldn't really remember it, but he didn't want to try to pry into a reason. The Trancitluzion had done enough damage by bringing up painful memories for her, and he didn't want to accidentally drag more of those to the surface. Instead, he placed his hand over hers on the table. She smiled, and took his hand more firmly before standing up and leading him to the centre of the ballroom. She adjusted her grip on his hand and placed his other hand on her waist and they danced in the ballroom of the Beast's Castle. River had always loved _Beauty and the Beast_, and it was like a dream come true for her to experience it in a way that was first hand.

Amy and Rory watched from across the ballroom with content and proud smiles on their faces before they stood up and began to dance together too.

After the dinner and dancing, they rode the _Ariel's Undersea Adventure _ride, which Amy loved, and watched the _Wishes! _ fireworks spectacular from the back of the New Fantasyland area. It actually had a wonderful view. They had all put their matching Mickey Mouse ears back on during the fireworks. For some reason they felt like it was something they should do.

They were about to walk through Cinderella's castle to leave the park when River remembered something.

"We haven't ridden the Carousel yet!" She ran back to the entrance for the beautiful ride, and the other three followed her. There were very few people left in the park, so there was no line and the ride itself was empty. The Castmember running it let them right on, and River immediately ran to a large horse in the second row from the outermost row of horses. It was covered in red and blue roses, and directly to the right of it (in the outermost row) was a horse with Centurion-style armor on. Rory mounted this horse, and the Doctor took the one to River's left which had many bright colors and streamers on it. Amy sat on the horse to the Doctor's left, and it was adorned in feathers and gems. The ride started as soon as they were all properly mounted, and the music organ began to play _When You Wish Upon a Star_. The horses raced in their circles around and around while the only family on the ride looked at the park around them. They all noticed with some wonder that the whole of Main Street could be seen through the castle when they went around, and that you could see the other families and people walking towards the train station and the park exit. The whole place was peaceful in a way that is known to few; only when it is just before park closing and one is lucky enough to be on the last ride of the night. River couldn't help but smile a huge, genuine smile as she looked at the park then at her family, and the Doctor, Amy, and Rory all did the same. But it was River who reached over to the Doctor and Rory and took their hands in hers, and the Doctor then took Amy's in his as they all sat there, enjoying the lights, the peace, and the gentle motion of the Carousel spinning on and on.

The words to the song playing could be heard softly throughout the rest of the park:

_"Like a bolt out of the blue,_

_Fate steps in and sees you through._

_When you wish upon a star,_

_your dreams come true."_


	28. Epilogue: Fate is Kind to Those Who Love

_Dear River,_

_Things took some getting used to here, but we're coping better now. Much better than in the last letter we sent you anyway. Do you even get these? I really hope that you do, but even if you don't, writing them helps to give me some peace of mind. I'm almost done with the editing of the book. It will be sent to the publishers as soon as I'm done writing the afterword, which is proving to be harder than I expected, even after all these years._

_It's 1979 now, and I have to say, as strange as it is living your life in 2012 one minute then being sent back to 1938 the next, it has been very interesting living through things we were only taught about in history class. But of course, you know about that because that's what happens when you travel with the Doctor. You also think back on the adventures at the strangest times once they're over._

_For example, the other day, I thought of when he took us to Disney World with you in 2012. I remember the Doctor telling us all these random facts about the movies and the parks and rides themselves... And now I think back and see that I've lived through a bunch of those now. We were sent back to New York in 1938... well, that was in April, and by December, when we had become more adjusted to 30's life, we decided that we needed to do something for a bit of fun; we went to see the New York premiere of the first feature-length animated movie: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves". It's still so strange to think that we were there because we simply wanted to go, not because the Doctor took us there on a whim. It was amazing to see everyone's reactions to what in this day and age is something so new and marvelous, while to us it is commonplace. It gives you a different perspective, I guess. After that, we went to each new animated Disney movie that came out, if only as a reminder of going to the park with you and the Doctor. However, it was much more enjoyable when we had someone else to take with us._

_I am hoping that this letter reaches you in a point in your personal timeline when you have met Anthony. If not, I will explain briefly for you: in 1946, your father and I decided to adopt. Your brother, Anthony Brian Williams. He knows you, but I'll explain that later... But we took him with us to all of the movies that came out then, and in 1955, when he was nine years old, we took him to Disneyland just after it opened. He loved it, and even at one point when we left him alone for a minute on Main Street to get a map, we returned to find him sitting on a bench, talking to none other than Walt Disney himself. The Doctor was right: he was a wonderful man. I really do hope that you to meet him some time. The last thing we did that day was ride the Carousel, with your father and I on horses on either side of Anthony, just like we did with you and the Doctor. It was one of the best days of my life, I think; we were all so happy. The only thing missing was you._

_Now, Anthony has met you (the older you) and when he was little, knew you as River. We didn't tell him who you actually were at first, but it was your idea for us not to. We later told him that you were his older sister, and you have been/were the best older sister he could have asked for. But then he met you again, and so did we... _

_I don't know if you can remember any of this, but between the time when we found and lost you in 1969 with the whole ordeal with the Doctor's death and the Silence and the time we met you as Mels in Leadworth in 1996... well, you had to have been living somewhere. We'd always wondered at that until we found a trail of regeneration energy leading to an alley close to our home. We found you, before you were Mels, but after you were the Melody who ran from the orphanage in Florida. The Doctor was always so worried that we didn't get to raise you, but we did. And when we couldn't, in those other times when we still had no clue where you were, he took care of you. But we got to raise you after all._

_We had explained everything to Anthony when he was about twelve, so by the time we found you when he was twenty-three, he understood that while you were still his sister, you were now his younger sister. He embraced the timey-wimey-ness (as the Doctor would say) of it all very well. And then, in 1971 when you were three (all things considered regeneration wise), we took you to Disney World when it opened. Remember during that last day in the Magic Kingdom when the Doctor took us, you said to me that there were certain things in the park that you felt like you were remembering? Like you'd been there before? That's why. We did take you there before, but everything that happened between then and when we all went together again locked away those memories. _

_At the end of the day, we all rode the Carousel: you and Anthony between me and Rory, all of us holding hands across the gaps between horses. You laughed and smiled the whole time, during the entire ride and throughout the entire day. That, I can honestly say, was the best day of my life, and your father's too, I'm sure. _

_Now, River... Melody... would you do me a favor? Go back there with the Doctor some time. Have fun. Let go of all the barriers you put up and allow yourself to remember and be happy._

_I suppose if you want to, you can show the Doctor this letter. If you decide not to, just assure him that we are and have been so happy, and we are grateful to him. _

_And we love both of you so, so much._

_~Amy xx_


End file.
